Silence of the Monkeys
by Mz D
Summary: AU, based loosly on the Silence of the Lambs but held firmly in the Dragonball Z universe. A young cadet, Bulma Briefs comes to West City Prison to see the most feared creature on Earth, Prince Vegeta. Only he can help stop the mysterious serial killer. Can the young but jaded Bulma get any information out of this mass murderer or will more innocents die?
1. FBI Cadet

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or Silence of the Lambs

Warning: This is going to be a dark tale featuring gore and human flesh eating. If you get queasy or don't like things like that turn away now or even if you're looking for a normal B/V romance you won't find it here.

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Chapter 1

000

In the secluded part of West City lay a prison filled with the most terrible and insane monsters that had ever terrorised the people of Earth. As Bulma Briefs looked upon the building with some dread she tried to find the courage to go inside. This was her big break; this was what was going to help her become a member of the FBI. The organisation created to catch criminals like the ones in this prison and also any alien threats.

She buzzed at the door and was lead up to the Warden's office. They had been expecting the cadet ever since her boss; Director Piccolo had sent word. Nobody had thought that they would have sent the fresh faced beauty that came to them that day to the hellhole that was the Asylum.

Bulma was a very pretty woman and prided herself in her appearance though lately she had let some things slide due to lack of finances. It was all in her past though what mattered was getting to interview the man she had come to see today. No, that wasn't true man would be an inaccurate word to describe the alien. He called himself a Saiyan and even though his appearance was that of a human he was an alien monster.

Bulma tried not to think about it. A lot of people had died that day 5 years ago, her own family included. She couldn't hold onto such blame. He was where he belonged now. In a prison rotting away till he died.

"Warden Oolong will see you know Miss Briefs." The guard told her.

Bulma bowed slightly and walked inside. She was greeted by a pig, literally. Warden Oolong was a humanoid pig and just oozed sleaze as soon as she walked in.

"Why Miss Briefs, I had no idea you where such a beauty."

"Thank you sir, now about my visit."

"Yes, we have made the necessary preparations." Warden Oolong assured her. "There is no way that beast is going to be able to lay one finger on you. Not that he needs to do that to kill you."

Bulma gulped she had heard about the energy balls he could produce from his hands.

"Not to worry he is unable to use those ki attacks as he called them." Warden Oolong told Bulma as he came too close to her. "I could of course accompany you to ensure your safety."

"That won't be necessary." Bulma said quickly. She was restraining herself from hitting the pig. He was incredibly annoying and if he intruded on her personal space any further she was tempted to let loose her temper, but she couldn't. She didn't have the luxury anymore to give into those urges. Instead she gritted her teeth and tried to hold it in but the pig wasn't taking her hints.

"As you wish, though I hope you harmed by him." Oolong said. "You are such a delicate flower, we wouldn't want your petals bruised."

"Ew..." Bulma couldn't control that and stood up. "Please excuse me before I do something I regret."

"Okay, you can jump me later." Oolong called after her.

Bulma shuddered and tried not to retch. There were no words to fully describe the hatred she felt towards men that abused their power like that. The only thing she knew it was going in her report.

"Sorry about Warden Oolong."

Bulma looked at the man that had been standing waiting for her. He was a kind looking man with dark skin and strange red lips.

"Nothing to apologise for," Bulma sighed. "If he came any closer to me I would have hit him."

The man chuckled. "Warden Oolong seems to bring that out in the ladies. I'm Mr Popo the guard, I'll be taking you down to see him."

"What are the things I have to do, I would have asked the Warden but..."

Mr Popo nodded understanding. "Just stay away from the plastic cell."

"Plastic?"

"Yes, it's the best way to conduct the ki negator field but if you get too close to the plastic he has many other ways to kill you. Just be sure to stay behind the yellow line. Only trained professionals are able to cross that line. We are able to subdue the beast with tranquillisers and gas if he gets out of hand but for an untrained person like you it is best to remain behind the line. No matter what he says to you, do not cross it."

"Right, stay behind the line." Bulma repeated as she tightened her grip on her briefcase. "I have something to give him though..."

"I doubt that he would accept it but if you have to there's a tray to pass things through to him."

"I see, thank you Mr. Popo."

"You're quite welcome Miss Briefs, but it is a nice change to see a pretty face around here."

They walked down the stairs, going down further and further. The natural light was now a subtle glow from the top of the stairs. The neon yellow lights flickered trying to bring light into the darkness of the basement dungeon.

There was no better way to describe the place that held the worst offenders on the entire planet. This part of the prison was a dungeon made to keep these people till they rotted away and died. There was no parole or getting out of this place because of good behaviour. The fiends that resided in the West City dungeon was there for life, the Saiyan being the star resident, the almighty Prince Vegeta.

Mr Popo unlocked a heavy door and lead Bulma inside. A few guards looked up from their monitors surprised at seeing the slim woman smiling back at them. She could see the silhouette of the man on one of the screens. He looked so small from what they spoke about on the news.

"Is that him?" Bulma asked pointing to the screen. As she did he turned round and looked directly at the camera with a slanted grin. Bulma jumped back astonished.

"His Highness has incredible hearing," Mr Popo explained. "Also it is best if you address him as a Prince, he seems to react to respect better."

"I know, I remember the report I read." Bulma answered her eyes still locked on the screen. He had turned around again and was watching the television. Apart from the insanely spiky hair he looked like an ordinary human being.

"Please Miss Briefs when you go to see him, do not cross the line at all." Mr Popo told her again. "Especially when you walk down to the cell, there are other prisoners in this part and it is for your own safety to stay away from their cells."

"So I stay to the right?" Bulma asked as she looked down the small window leading into the dark corridor. She could see the light from Prince Vegeta's room, she wanted to go there and face him. All this standing around was making her fear worsen.

"We'll all be watching you on the monitor," The guard said unlocking the next door to the corridor. "Just remember what we told you and you should make it back alive."

Bulma nodded knowing they weren't over-exaggerating the seriousness of the situation. She clutched her briefcase tight, adjusted her hair and walked through the doors into the hallway.

She stayed right up against the wall avoiding all eye contact with the demons that leered and shouted comments at her as she passed. Some whispered what they would like to do to her body, most of it Bulma tried to block out. The rapists and murderers where not something she needed to dwell upon.

She made her way to Vegeta's cell and saw the plastic chair seated just behind the yellow line. The cell glowed around the edges, the ki negator working at keeping the monster's power drained. He stood watching her, his arms crossed and look of superiority graced his regal features. He did seem like a Prince, though he lacked the clothes the white T-shirt and dark grey pants did nothing to hide his bulging muscles. This was the Saiyan that had killed and eaten hundreds of people all because he was hungry and they had given him disrespect as he had 'purged' the planet. If it had not been for the actions of another Saiyan acting in the defence of Earth then the planet would have been destroyed.

The mysterious Saiyan that had saved Earth remained nameless, not even Vegeta once captured would speak of him. Another thing about the alien, he would not speak of say anything about himself except he was a Prince. Other than that and the observations made he was a complete unknown.

"Good morning your Highness," Bulma said dipping her head in a small bow. "I'm Bulma Briefs I'm here from the FBI." She held out her ID card to show her authority.

Vegeta nodded, "Let me see the card." He said. "I can't quite see it from here."

Bulma strained her arm out past the line and closer to the cell. Vegeta smirked as he read it fully aware of the wide-eyed stare from Bulma.

"It says cadet on the card, you're not even fully trained," he scoffed. "They send such a low class cadet to the Elite of the Elite, Prince Vegeta!"

"It means no disrespect," Bulma snapped annoyed at his elitist attitude. "I'm the best of my class and I was chosen to come to you as an assignment."

He merely gave her a slanted smile at her answer. His eyes hiding whatever emotion he felt but it was obvious he was just pushing her buttons. Bulma didn't realise this and continued to fume, biting her bottom lip to try and keep her temper under control.

"So, Cadet Bulma Briefs FBI what do you want from Vegeta, Prince of All Saiyans?"

"I have a questionnaire for you." Bulma said it out of her briefcase she paused as she saw Vegeta was tutting and shaking his head. "WHAT?" she snapped at him, he really was making her angry plus she had the built up aggression from dealing with the Warden.

"You where doing so well little Cadet; I was starting to open up and you force your little paper questions on me," he chuckled. "I would have expected you to at least talk in a more civilised manner towards a Prince, you started off well but this little temper tantrum, dear, dear."

"You asked me what I wanted so I told you," Bulma said trying to calm down. She clenched her fists, burying back the anger. "How would you respond to 'What do you want?'"

"Hmm, interest retort," Vegeta purred but shrugged and answered her question. "I would have asked 'I want to see how you are finding this place.' Really just a polite question about how I was."

"I see, " Bulma said understanding the game he was playing. "Then Prince Vegeta how do you find our Planet Earth and your prison?"

"I find this planet a scab on existence desperate to be purged of all life and my little prison as you call it is as close to Hell as I would like to get."

"You seem to like the entertainment we provide." Bulma said pointing to the muted TV.

Vegeta frowned and looked back at her. "That is a hideous torture device, I'm too weak to destroy it. Once you're gone it will be turned up again to drown out my hearing. They don't like my superior senses, they need to deafen me so they feel safe to talk behind my back."

"But you heard me in the security room."

"It had just been switched off little Cadet for your grand arrival." Vegeta sneered. "I have others senses to rely on so don't let your heart bleed because of my living conditions."

"I won't." Bulma said as confidently as she could. She really did want to hate this man, to be frightened but there was a charm he was giving off that captivated her. She looked about the small plastic cage. The TV was positioned in the centre of the room, beside that a small and uncomfortable looking bed. Then on the wall she spotted drawings in red chalk.

"I see you're an artist." Bulma said trying to break the silence, he was beginning to stare for too long.

"They give me paper and drawing materials," Vegeta sighed still staring at her. "I believe they think they can analyse my mind this way. Not that they'll ever figure out a being that is too far above them."

"Are you glad that the government decreed that you where not to be cut up for experimenting on?"

"Like you little apes would know what to do with my handsome flesh," he grinned, "I know fine enough what to do with human flesh, it is rather delicious." He licked his fangs making Bulma turn away. He chuckled at her reaction; she was an amusing toy.

"There are still so many things we don't know about you Prince Vegeta," Bulma said. "Why do you still refuse to answer our questions?"

"Perhaps there's never enough give, you all want something from me, what do I get out of all this?"

"Are you wanting something for answering questions?"

"You know what I want," Vegeta grinned his fangs still showing. "I want to destroy this waste of a planet and return to my home."

"That's not going to happen." Bulma said. "If someone was even going to rescue you then they've taken a long time about it. It's been 5 years, no-one is coming."

"And no-one shall." Vegeta agreed. "It is pitifully weak to be rescued, only if you where a child would it ever be deemed acceptable to launch into something like that. Even then the child would have to prove his worth afterwards. My people would rather live without a Prince than have one that they had to rescue from a weak planet such as this. It is beneath them."

"What does that mean that they won't come for you because that would be considered beneath them?" Bulma asked. "Doesn't that make you angry?"

"No, what makes me angry is annoying women that ask too many questions, how many of your little paper questions have you already asked?"

"Only one," Bulma truthfully answered. "I won't ask anymore questions Prince Vegeta if you don't want to talk about this."

"No, it is only _him_ that I don't want to talk about."

"Who?"

"Didn't I say I _didn't_ want to talk about it?"

"But the way you said it made me want to ask who? You want me to ask you."

"That's impertinent assumption from a low class Cadet, nothing more."

"You said 'him', it made me want to ask who."

Vegeta was obviously getting angry now; he paced up and down his cell glancing at Bulma. "I will not talk about the humiliation, not here, not with that PIG watching." He pointed to top corner of his cell where a CCTV camera focused on the Prince.

Bulma understood, Warden Oolong must be watching. He was a name that turned up in all of Vegeta's files as an expert on the Prince. The sleaze would use whatever information Bulma got from him and use it as his own. She knew he was that type of person, he had met people like Warden Oolong before. They where always nice and flirting in your face and as soon as your back was turned they stuck the knife in.

"No more questions Prince Vegeta." Bulma assured him gently. "My purpose here isn't to upset you. It is just to get you to answer my questionnaire, Warden Oolong has no authority to take whatever you put down on it."

"But you can't assume that." Vegeta said. "The pig makes me want to strip him of his skin and make crackling with it."

Bulma covered her mouth, as much as she hated the Warden a punch would all he would get from her. "You have no limitations to your actions, do you?"

"Limitations are for the weak." Vegeta said, "Besides I never said I was going to touch your little paper, no matter how much your little pretty face amuses me there is not a chance a bit of skirt is going to make me open up to you weak human scum."

"I am not here as a bit of skirt!" Bulma snapped.

Vegeta chuckled, "Oh how foolish you are, you where chosen not because of being top of your class but because you look beautiful and would make any male say anything to get into your pants."

Bulma stormed up to the plastic, she wanted to slap him across the face. 'How dare he?'

"I am more than just a pretty face, I'm a goddamn genius!"

"Yes, so smart," Vegeta sighed as his hand moved to the small hole and smelled the air. Bulma felt her hair being pulled into the small hole, she realised her mistake and leapt backwards. Vegeta didn't pull on it but only had it to his nose for a fraction of a second. As Bulma rushed to move away a stray hair stayed on his hand. He looked at it as if it was a rare flower.

"You tricked me!"

"If you had been really annoying me you would have been dead by now." Vegeta said he dropped the hand with the hair but he kept it held tight.

The security door at the end of the corridor opened and Mr. Popo rushed out. "Miss Briefs!" He yelled out.

"I'm okay!" She called back.

"Leave your paper Cadet I shall write something down for you." Vegeta said motioning towards the drawer. "Just be sure to pick it up personally."

Bulma nodded her heart still thumping from that experience, the killer had almost had her. She placed the questionnaire into the drawer and bowed to the Prince.

"Thank you Prince Vegeta, I'll be back in a week's time."

Vegeta grunted acknowledgement and went to fetch the paper from the drawer. As Bulma turned to leave he watched her go all the way to the end of the corridor. He gently held the thin blue hair as a souvenir as the thick security door slammed shut.

000

Author's Notes: Well that's the first chapter, it's just something that came into my head a while ago when thinking about Silence of the Lambs. I know I made Vegeta into a human flesh eater but if you read some of the Manga you see him out on purging missions with Nappa eating the flesh of his victims. So it isn't that much of a jump to make it human victims.

The universe is a strange mix between DBZ world and the normal Earth, but I'm leaving out countries like America the same way Dragonball does and just leaving it vague. (Akira Toriyama style!) So even though there's FBI just like the Army in DBZ it has no obvious link to any country.


	2. Give and Take

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or Silence of the Lambs.

Chapter 2

A few days had past since the time at the Asylum but Bulma was still shaking. She waited outside her Director's office; he would have read her report by now. The memory of that awful place in West City had given her nightmares. Not only that but the alien called Prince Vegeta, he had been able to manipulate her so much that it scared her. That was the real thing that she feared, how easily it had been for him to taunt her into getting close to him.

If he wanted to he could have killed her by now something that wasn't helping her nerves. She had promised him she would go back there, to pick up the questionnaire. Not that she thought he would fill it out with any truthful answers. He was a murdering alien that had wanted to destroy everyone on the planet.

"Mr Piccolo will see you now," the secretary announced. Bulma got up and entered the cool office.

Principal Director Piccolo motioned for his young cadet to sit down and held up a paper.

"It seems that you where quite successful in making contact with Prince Vegeta," he said reading it. "Though I have a report from Warden Oolong asking for more information about your visit, I don't feel obliged to tell him."

Bulma smiled, she was grateful that Director Piccolo had the sense to see through the Warden's petty act.

"If you must Sir, why was I put forward to see Prince Vegeta?" Bulma asked it was something that had been bugging her since the interview. Especially when the Saiyan had mentioned she was only a bit of skirt. "It can't be that you just want answers from a simple form."

"Ah I see you've picked up your father's intelligence." Director Piccolo said. "Forgive me but we had to use your female charm and naivete to this case. There was a suspicion with the psychiatrists involved that he may figure out any alternative motives if we sent someone in knowing the truth behind wanting to contact Prince Vegeta."

"What is the truth Sir?" Bulma said her face getting flushed, so she was a bit of skirt after all!

"That we're not after Prince Vegeta, but rather another alien." Director Piccolo explained. "We believe that the serial killer that is loose in West City is someone connected to the purging mission from 5 years ago but no other clue than that. Really, Prince Vegeta is the only lead for us to go on. Have you heard of Scalpel Jones?"

"The one that's in the papers recently, of course."

"All the leads we have point to the fact that he or it is not human." Piccolo explained. "That and the overwhelming evidence that Jones is using ki attacks to skin his victims alive."

"Is it another Saiyan?"

"We doubt it, from the three we have seen on this planet the mentality is rather more up front and direct." Piccolo said. "They don't hide in the shadows if there's someone they want killed they come right out and face them."

"At least they have some warped sense of pride."

"Indeed, these pictures have not been released to the press. It is too gruesome for the families involved to see these splashed across the headlines." Director Piccolo set out the photographs he had ready to show. Bulma covered her mouth, she thought she was going to be sick. All the corpses where striped down like an autopsy. The skin had been completely removed and on one picture she was sure she spotted maggots.

"What has this got to do with the suspicion of aliens?"

"The way they are cut up." Mr Piccolo said. "From just normal appearances it seems to be done with a scalpel of some sort but under an electronic magnifier it proved that the it was burned not cut."

"Burned?"

"Yes, just as the victims of Prince Vegeta, the ones we found that he had cut up with his ki. The marks are similar but as his was more crude there is a finesse to this dissection of the victims."

"I suppose there is no better way to describe it." Bulma agreed. "So this is why you wanted me to go to Prince Vegeta to ask him the connection with this murderer?"

"In a way, yes." Mr Piccolo admitted. "Your good looks and flirtatious manner would work well in winning over the Prince but not if you knew the true motives of our interview. He would see straight through that and not talk at all."

'So he was right.' Bulma thought, thinking about what the Prince had said. "I see so you still want me to go back to collect the questionnaire now I know?"

"It is best we admit to him now what we are up to." Mr Piccolo admitted. "From your report on him it seemed he suspected more was to this little cadet coming to meet him and the one I received from Warden Oolong. As much as you don't like this man, he is an expert on the Prince."

'But I wonder how much of that the pig stole from other hard working people?' Bulma wondered but kept her mouth shut.

"We need to catch this Jones before he causes any more panic and alarm." Mr Piccolo said. "If word got out it was another alien that had escaped our attention 5 years ago then there would be huge uproar from the public, maybe even riots. The memory of 5 years ago with Prince Vegeta and his fellow Saiyans are still fresh in everyone's minds."

"I understand Sir." Bulma said. "I will try to ask Prince Vegeta for assistance but I doubt he will give anything without having something in return."

"If it helps keep this other alien under wraps the government may agree, but do not let him know that until you have played all your cards. As you where Cadet, you'll be speaking to Prince Vegeta tomorrow morning."

Bulma stood up and said her thanks. Director Piccolo handed her the case file on Scalpel Jones. She held onto it not sure what one young FBI cadet was doing getting wrapped up in a complex case like this. But if this helped Bulma get to the top again then she would do it.

"Bulma understand, don't let the resentment you feel about loosing your parents to one of Vegeta's men get to you." Director Piccolo said as she held the door to leave. "I chose you not because of your looks or my connection with your father, but to test to see if you're ready to put the past behind and help this organisation against its fight."

"I'm willing to do whatever's necessary." Bulma said and closed the door.

0000

West City was a sprawling metropolis that was forever buzzing with new technologies and people busy in their own world. But at night as the dark moonless sky came, people rushed home to safety. The news of Scalpel Jones moved fast so even if a lot of the truth was hidden from the public, they knew the rumours.

It was always at night he struck and it was always a sole victim that he chose. One walking by themselves, male or female he/she/it didn't care.

But still some people ignored these little rumours, it was only things been blown out of proportion by the press. Just spooky stories to keep the people in check.

A lone woman believed this, she was an independent businesswoman. She knew West City like the back of her hand this was her city, her place to shine.

Betty Walker thought nothing of the haggard man that coughed and choked in the alleyway. There were always homeless people on the streets. She thought nothing about why he had a large hood over his face. She really didn't think anything when she saw under the light that the skin on his hand was bright pink.

But she did begin to think when he came up too close to her.

"Excuse me..." She snorted in disgust but by then it was too late.

There was a muffled thump as Betty Walker was grabbed by the cloaked individual and dragged off to a van just in the back alleyway. She screamed out but there was nobody around to help.

0000

A full week had past and just as she promised Cadet Briefs now found herself back at the Asylum. Bulma looked down the dark corridor. The light from Vegeta's cell beckoned her near like the proverbial moth to the flame. She now knew why she was being sent here. It had angered her slightly but then as Director Piccolo had said he needed a way to test her. He had known her parents before the incident 5 years ago. If anything Mr. Piccolo had come to her and encouraged her to put her genius into becoming a member of the FBI. She had started from the bottom, 2 years of hard training after years of being alone and depressed. She was going to join this new force, to help defend the Earth against Aliens such as Prince Vegeta.

As much as she hated the Saiyan meeting him face to face was different. She couldn't hate him as much as she wanted. He saw nothing wrong in what he had done she could tell, it was only natural to him. There was no guilt in his face only enjoyment. He got pleasure from her fearful stares. 'Did it make him feel powerful?' She wondered. 'Tormenting the weak like he did?'

She tried to hide the resentment she was feeling as she walked down the corridor. But she had become careless. She was just on the yellow line but a little too close. The fiends in the cages could smell her femininity; they wanted a piece a taste something from the bitch that walked past.

A hand touched her ankle and she let out a shriek. As she jumped back she looked directly into the eyes of the one that had touched her. He looked back licking his lips. Vegeta thumped the plastic growling and the others squeaked hiding back in the cells.

Bulma sat down looking at her ankle. The tights where torn and he had scraped his nails across her pale skin. It hadn't cut her but it was too close for comfort and Bulma didn't want to think what had touched her. Vegeta was watching her like a hawk. His eyes focused on her ankle. He say anything about it but remained silent the same deep growl in the bottom of his throat.

"Sorry, I got careless." Bulma said. "I'm back as I promised. How are you Prince Vegeta?"

This seemed to snap him out of his spell and he returned his gaze to her eyes.

"I am still alive Cadet." Vegeta said. He smirked at her. "I filled out that little test for you, now what do I get in return?"

"In return?"

"Yes, there has to be a bit of give, I don't do things for nothing." Vegeta kept smirking. "I wouldn't give you any sympathy for your little attack, I won't get anything from it but this little test I wager is worth something to someone."

"You have a very good business mind." Bulma said astonished.

"Surprised at finding that business is not just in your little world?" Vegeta sneered. "I bargain for my own gain, I ask again what is this test worth?"

"It's worth not much Vegeta I'm afraid." Bulma sighed. "It was just a way for them to introduce myself to you."

"Ah, I see the little Cadet has had her mission briefing, very good now I'll finally get to hear what this sudden interest in me is about."

"They won't set you free," Bulma said.

"Of course not they want to keep me like a monkey in a cage."

Bulma flinched and looked away. She didn't want to think about him in a sympathetic light, he was still the alien monster.

"You consider yourself kept like in a zoo?" Bulma asked. "How about improving your conditions here?"

"Hmm, maybe a window." Vegeta said. "If I am to remain here how about a view of the scum planet that holds me. These walls can get a bit boring after a while and my company is nothing but hideous. I wouldn't want to be compared to those other maggots."

The rest of the prisoners shouted abuse at Vegeta, they didn't seem to like him either. Bulma sat down quietly wondering she had no powers to make claims. But then Director Piccolo had said the government might agree if it was acceptable enough.

"You know I can only ask Prince Vegeta," she said. "I can't guarantee that we will move you to a new place. I am after all as you keep reminding me, only a little cadet. I would only be the messenger."

"Then tell me now, why is it that they need information from me?" Vegeta asked. "Surely they must have told the errand girl why she was doing this."

"If I must, it is about a fellow alien of yours."

"All my comrades are dead." Vegeta scoffed. "There are no others."

"Then what type of creature that uses ki as a way of cutting up flesh?" Bulma questioned. "We don't know much only that he dissects the victims and takes the skin and flesh. No tool on Earth could make marks like that on human flesh, we want to know what or whom is doing this."

"Ah you weak humans and your need to protect each other." Vegeta smirked. "A tactic of the weak but still it does sound intriguing, I may know but then that would give away the game. I don't have anything else to go by. If I get case information, explicit pictures of the kills I may try to help but as I said I would want something back."

Bulma nodded, "May I have the questionnaire you completed then as a gesture of good will?"

"Only if you are going to continue being the liaison." Vegeta said. "I find most of your Earth experts to annoy me. I only want one person to talk to and that would be you."

"I'm flattered." Bulma said coolly. "I'm sure you'd love to play your head games with me."

"Head games are all I have," Vegeta leered. "If I had my way, head games would be ripping off heads and kicking them around."

"That's not going to happen." Bulma said.

"Never say never," Vegeta said. "If I ever do get out of here what do you think I should do?"

"I would like you to leave and never come back."

"I would look for him, try to find him and kill the bastard." Vegeta spat.

"You mean the mysterious Saiyan that defeated you?"

"He walks among you," Vegeta scoffed. "A lone Saiyan in among the humans, eating your food, dressing up like you and even acts like you. He isn't fit to be a Saiyan just a brain washed traitor."

"Is he the one doing the attacks?"

Vegeta laughed looking at Bulma clutching his stomach. "If he was I would embrace the fool and call him my brother!" he chortled. "No, the idiot does not harm people, he loves you little tasty flesh bags. But not in the same way I do."

"You love us?"

"Hmm yes, your flesh is so delicate and rich." Vegeta said. "I love how your little organs are fattened ripe for the eating, everyone of you are fleshed out and fat."

Bulma looked at him more enraged at the 'fat' remark but she held it in.

"Of course I only really eat people when I'm hungry, any other time it is just barbaric," he chuckled, laughing at Bulma's angry face. "Ah, still want to take me on Little Cadet? Sure being my little messenger won't go against your principles?"

"I'll be fine," Bulma hissed.

"I can almost taste the anger in the air," Vegeta said holding his nose up towards the holes in his cage. "So fresh and vibrant, unlike any of the smells that come into this place." He loudly sniffed the air and Bulma stiffened at the sound.

"You have been grazed by that scum, but it hasn't released your blood. Yet you cut yourself shaving this morning, didn't quite wash the blood completely off."

He paused sniffing some more, "You don't use perfume, but maybe a moisturiser. Interesting shampoo, it's mostly soap but with a subtle ting of fruit. Oh but that's a shame your shoes..."

Bulma kept quiet he was taunting her again, she was not going to fall for his bait.

"You have such nasty smelling shoes, not made of skin at all but plastic." Vegeta sighed, "It was good up until the shoes."

"Leather shoes cost money." Bulma announced.

"Do they?" Vegeta asked. "I never really pay much attention to your little ape's economy. Perhaps I should start learning."

A gleam crossed his eyes, Bulma didn't know what he had just thought of but she doubted he would ever tell her.

"Prince Vegeta, I didn't come here to talk about the cost of shoes."

"The questionnaire is in the tray Cadet Bulma Briefs, FBI."

"Thank you Prince Vegeta."

She stepped up to the cell watching him. He stayed standing watching her movements as she retrieved her paper. As she sat back down Bulma felt herself letting out a sigh of relief.

"Now, shall I start telling you what I want?" Vegeta asked.

"You told me a solitary room with a view." Bulma answered. She looked up to the wall to see his drawings, a few new ones had appeared. Now instead of red chalk there was a couple in blue. Lines of what looked like ocean and sky all abstracted into a beautiful variety of landscapes. "I see you're already trying to choose your view."

"If that's what you think it is," Vegeta grinned. "I left one in there as a souvenir for you a thank you for this."

He held up his hand, Bulma couldn't see what was there. "What?"

"The hair, it has an pleasant fragrance though it is loosing it potency."

Bulma choked and tried to hide her fear and embarrassment.

"Yes, what I need is to share information," Vegeta explained. "I give you information about what I know about this alien and my views on it and you give me information."

"I give you information?" Bulma asked not quite understanding.

"Yes, tell me about yourself." Vegeta said. "I want to learn about the Earth, prove to me it isn't a scab like I say. Tell me everything you can. I want to learn." The same gleam was across his eyes as before. There was something he wasn't saying to Bulma, a fact he was hiding.

"That's going a bit personal." Bulma huffed.

"That's what I say when you apes start asking me similar questions, now it's my turn."

"Is that the true reason?"

"Nothing is 100 percent true _Bulma_," he said pronouncing her name in an emphasising tone. "Truth is blunt and hurtful, facts are always lies laced around half truths and opinions. Some people call me a cannibal but that isn't true, I'm not human so how can I eat my own kind? I am the only survivor of my race, bar that human willed fool, yet here I am in your human prison charged with cannibalism. I was only a superior being eating the weak prey that I caught."

"You where charged with murder and violent anti-social behaviour."

"Yes, blowing up a town was only anti-social was it?" Vegeta mocked. "Your laws are pitiful, you couldn't even sentence me to death. You will understand little Cadet that killing me would have been the best think when I escape."

"You're not going to escape Prince Vegeta." Bulma snapped. "We have figured out your anatomy, designed drugs to sedate your powers. You won't be blowing anything up ever again!"

"Careful what you say to me," he hissed. "My humour can only last so long, disrespect me and you will know about it."

"I mean no disrespect Prince," Bulma snarled. "Yet here you are baiting my anger wanting me to get mad at you. I don't want to be used as your little doll to play your mental games with. You can find another dumbass to liaison with the government for you."

"No, the reason I rouse your anger is that you're attracted to me," Vegeta grinned. "I'm such a mysterious being it makes your pants wet just looking at me. You're angry that you can't hate me because that's what's expected."

"I do hate you Vegeta!" Bulma yelled. "I hate you with every fibre of my being, your purging of our planet destroyed my very way of life. There is no way in hell I would ever think about you in such a way! You're a monster, an alien bent on destroying everything I hold precious! If you want some female to start lusting after you because you're a prince we'll get you a whore because in truth that's all you deserve! In fact you don't even deserve that."

"So that's the truth is it?" Vegeta said, "Go. Leave me be, I'll answer nothing more from you."

Bulma quietly placed the paper into her briefcase and stood up. She made no eye contact with him, not wanting to see his stare. She walked back up the corridor holding back any tears she wanted to cry. 'Not here Bulma, don't give him the satisfaction of making you cry,' she told herself.

There was giggling from the monster's cells, she was too close to the line again. This time something flew at her face and landed in her hair. The laughter from the cells increased and the hands clawed at her leg again. She kicked the hand back stabbing her heel down. The inmates all began shouting and throwing abuse at her.

The security door opened and the guards ran in with the hoses. They began spraying into the open barred cells pushing them all back with the water.

"Cadet!" Vegeta yelled at her.

Bulma went up to him as the Prince was pushed up against the plastic.

"I will do this for you," Vegeta said. "But remember our deal, you ask questions, I ask questions a simple exchange. I think you should look around the south side of West City. You might find something worth looking at. Go see the round building and come back to me and tell me what you find. Then we shall start from there."

"Thank you Prince Vegeta," Bulma said, then turned and ran past the rest of the chaos.

00

Author's Notes: So getting interesting? I read the original books (including Hannibal and Silence of the Lambs) and watched the movies years ago and I want to try and do this story with my own twist. Not just pick two characters from separate universes and plonk them in another. For a change I want the characters to stay in character, well, I'll try. Which is why Bulma's getting angry instead of the slightly cooler Clarice's actions.

Yeah and as you all can gather it really is a merged world of Dragonball and the Silence of the Lambs. So differences are going to appear.


	3. The Abandoned Building

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or Silence of the Lambs.

Chapter 3

The Asylum was still in chaos as Bulma left her mind racing. She had just avoided an inquiry from Warden Oolong. It was obvious he was annoyed at the questionnaire that she had retrieved from Vegeta and now the riot in the main dungeon.

He had tried to stop her leaving but he had been called away to help clean up the mess. She would hear about it when she returned to FBI headquarters in South City. But for now she was free in the West City where she had to go on a mystery hunt.

Why she trusted what Vegeta said she didn't know. He was still the man-eating murderer she had condemned like the rest of the population. She hated him for what he was and had done. There was no redemption for someone that didn't feel any remorse for his actions. He took pride in it, also the fact that he had revealed so many truths about himself. He had said he was the only survivor of his race, he somehow didn't count the mystery Saiyan. This was something new. Vegeta had never told anyone before. It was assumed that there was a planet of Saiyans somewhere. Also he had mentioned the mysterious Saiyan and how he thought like a human.

In truth he had told her more than anyone, Vegeta trusted her. This was the fact that suddenly dawned on her as she drove to the south of the city. There were so many questions she wanted to ask but she guessed this was as much as she was going to get from him. Warden Oolong still had his spy camera and Vegeta didn't want to say too much. It was obvious how much contempt he held for the pig.

She looked out the window of her car searching for the building. She felt stupid looking for something Vegeta had told her to, but it was her only lead. She wanted to help solve this case. It wasn't a matter of anything that these young people where being kidnapped and taken somewhere to be tortured. The case file on Scalpel Jones told her that much. Parts of bodies where missing from the victims but it was always something different. Bulma couldn't understand the killer's mind, the motivation and need where something she couldn't spot. Other cases like this it would be sexual or fantasy fulfilling, but not this one. There was something cold and clinical about the way it had all been taken care of.

She slammed her foot down on the brake this was it! The round building of an abandoned Capsule Corporation facility loomed down at her. She felt a pang of homesickness but tried to let it quell down. She couldn't trust her inventions anymore. She needed to be more than just an inventor; Bulma wanted to become a force to fight these aliens. With the FBI she could do that and if she could use her genius to help then she would give them it.

She walked up to the building her gun secluded under her suit jacket. If there was Scalpel Jones inside she could take him down now!

000

Betty Walker opened her eyes and wished for freedom. She didn't know how long she had been down in this dark dank hole but she wanted her home. She wanted her mommy. She wanted was to be somewhere that wasn't here!

The silhouette of the monster that kept her appeared above her.

"Eat." It hissed. She couldn't tell if it was male or female. But after being its prisoner but she couldn't tell how long it had been, weeks maybe days she didn't know. Food was thrown down on top of her with a messy slop noise. It did this three times a day. It would throw food at her and expect her to eat it. It tasted horrible, she suspected it was drugged. Everytime she got so hungry that she would want to taste the foul slop she fell unconscious.

"Let me out of here!" Betty cried. "I wanna go home."

"Don't we all," The stranger said sarcastically. "But it will eat now, no demands from stock!"

"I'm not stock!" Betty yelled, her voice starting to crack, "I'm a human being."

"The Stock will eat then we'll start to take." It said mysteriously.

"What the hell…" Betty whispered as she kicked the slop away from her. She hated the muck and didn't want anymore. She hated the thing, whatever it was.

"It will EAT!" The dark creature said.

All of a sudden the frightful scene was interrupted by a faint knock.

"Stay silent!" It warned.

"HEY, HEY, I'M DOWN HERE! HELP ME!"

"It will stay SILENT!" It threw down a cylinder that spewed out purple gas.

The frightened girl coughed and spluttered, her voice completely gone. The figure hunched across as the knocking continued. It picked up its disguise and made its way to the door.

00

Bulma knocked again, the Capsule Corporation was no longer operational but the building might have new owners that had security guards on patrol. It was better to check she decided. Besides it was only a faint lead from the Saiyan Prince, for all she knew he could be sending her straight into a trap.

She gave a final knock, the night air starting to chill her; she was getting really fed up. The shutter finally juddered and opened.

"Hi, Bulma Briefs FBI."

000

The creature looked at the card held out to him.

"Flower delivery?" It asked, his disguise mask crinkled slightly as it tried to comprehend. "I didn't ask for any ...flowers."

"Well sir, we have your address here." The Deliveryman said.

It squinted at the print, "That's across the street."

"Oh I'm terribly sorry."

"Hmph, that's okay."

"Have a nice day sir," The Deliveryman said as he ran to the correct address.

"Filthy flowers," The creature hissed and closed his door.

000

"FBI?" The security guard asked.

"Yeah, I'm checking out a lead." Bulma said. "Do you mind if I have a quick check of the building?"

"I dunno," The Guard said scratching his head. "Not sure if I should be able to let you in without the right authorisation."

"Well, I could go back to my head office in South City and ask for the authorisation but that would take another day and it really is just a quick check." Bulma said fluttering her eyelashes.

"Okay," the guy said giving in as if he was a child asking for candy. "Just let me come with you."

"Sure, I don't mind." Bulma entered and took out her pocket torch from her bag. (It is well known that all FBI agents should have a torch.)

"This used to be an old laboratory for the Capsule Corporation, say Briefs that name does sound kinda familiar." The Guard said.

"It's a really common name." Bulma lied. "There's tons of Briefs in South City."

"I didn't know that." The man said.

"What's in these boxes?" Bulma asked. "I thought all the Capsule Corporation equipment was taken away."

"This is just left over junk that no-one wanted." The Guard said. "I don't know why they need it guarded 24 hours but it pays good money."

"I see." Bulma glanced into the nearest crate. She spied another one close by that looked like it was almost open.

"Are you sure it's okay to do that?" The Security Officer asked as he watched Bulma opening the box.

"Oh it's fine, it's already open see." Bulma said. "I'm just nudging it to get a better look."

Bulma moaned disappointedly as she saw all the box contained was rusted Bunsen burners and microscopes.

"Aw gee is that all?" The Guard asked.

"Looks like I should check the next room."

"Do you know what you're looking for Miss?"

"I know when I find it, sorry I never caught your name."

"Dave Burns." He held out his hand but Bulma just smiled and carried on.

"Nice to meet you Dave, this must be awfully lonely in a place like this."

"Not really, eh do you mind if I go make a quick call?" Dave asked. "It's time for me to check in with my Head Office."

"Sure, I won't touch anything." Bulma said still smiling her eyes focused on the box.

As soon as he was gone Bulma ran over to the crate and moved the lid, she peered inside hoping to find some hidden secret. All she could see was empty capsules.

'Great Bulma good detective work.' She sarcastically said to herself. She picked up an empty capsule and pressed the button, it made a faint hissing noise but it was broken as she suspected. It was crates of broken empty capsules. She kicked the box and went over them all, just to check.

They all had the same label on them 'default stock.' She glanced around there wasn't anything worth protecting here. If this was just a warehouse filled with faulty and out of date capsules then why hadn't they been disposed of?

Seeing as her father's company went bankrupt five years ago, she still remembered a lot about it. She had been making all her preparations to take over after her father retired but the Saiyan attack made sure that wouldn't happen. At 15 she had been orphaned and left to stray.

She wiped her eyes hoping to wipe away the memories that this warehouse was giving her. She couldn't let herself mope on the past anymore. She was doing something about it. She was a FBI agent ready to take on all those murderous aliens that took lives away.

Bulma leaned on the boxes as she kept looking around the place. Had Vegeta sent her on a wild goose chase? One that he would taunt her about when she return to question him. She felt like such a fool trusting one of those murderers.

Bulma moved into the next room, the boxes although looked the same as the one in the previous room had one thing missing, the Capsule Corporation logo.

'This has to be it!' Bulma beamed proud at herself. She pushed at the largest box; it was huge big enough to hold a small car. Which wasn't right as any large equipment should be contained in a capsule. Bulma got her crowbar and worked away at the hinge. It broke off and with a loud clatter the box completely opened.

The Security guard Dave came rushing in to see what the noise was about.

Bulma shrugged and batted her eyes hiding the crowbar behind her back. "Silly me I nudged it and the box almost exploded!"

"I never told my boss you were here but I could get into serious trouble…" Dave warned.

"Don't worry I'll have the correct paperwork round by tomorrow…now what's this?"

Bulma turned her attention back onto the mysterious object and was amazed. It was a space ship, a huge round space ship. The design was similar to that of the Saiyan invaders but there was something different about this. There was no Vegeta stamp as she had come to call it, the crest of the Saiyan Prince. All of the Saiyan space pods had this crest on it. Vegeta denied that it had anything to do with him but it was all over his clothes that they had recovered. He was the only one with the crest on his person.

"So this didn't come in the same group as Vegeta?" Bulma gulped, she drew closer looking for clues.

"Miss I wouldn't really want you to touch anything…" The Security Guard warned.

"Your company has been hiding Alien technology without the FBI knowing about it. I wouldn't worry about just your job Dave." Bulma sighed. This was quite a serious matter. The Space Pod looked in better condition than the other Saiyan space pods.

She clicked a few buttons on the side and the pod opened. 'Yes, it is the same as Vegeta's and his bunch of savages.'

She looked down at the abandoned clothing, the armour that Vegeta and his crew wore on their first visit. This space pod hadn't been opened; it had only been boxed and put into storage.

"Well done Dave Burns for letting me in," Bulma said. "This clearly means that we have some charges to file against your employers."

"Oh no…" Dave groaned.

"I'm sure our offices is always short of a security guard or two." Bulma smiled. "I could put in a good word for you.

"Could you?"

Bulma nodded.

"Then I'll leave you to it miss, I really need to tell my boss now."

"Remember, I've got all the proper paperwork!" Bulma winked.

She let her flirty façade drop as soon as Dave scurried off. Bulma didn't know what to do; it was completely out of her depth. The only thing she could do was look for more clues and call for back up, asking for the paperwork to come on the way.

She picked up her phone and made the call, luckily her boss was in late. Director Piccolo was surprised at her announcement that she had found an alien craft. But he was quick to pick up that she needed forms and red tape cut as soon as possible.

This may be tied up to his case or it may not. Bulma wasn't 100 sure either way she had managed to find something thanks to the murderer's help.

She stood back from the craft as she hung up her cell. This was what she joined the FBI for, sure she could have been in the labs but this fieldwork was worth it. Coming here and finding something like this!

She checked about the rest of the room it smelled quite strange almost as if someone was growing mushrooms. But there was something else a much muskier smell. It was coming from the back of the room. Bulma move towards it the stench getting stronger as she covered her mouth.

A sheet was covering whatever was in the corner. Bulma lifted it up carefully her gut clenching as her imagination went wild. The sheet was whipped off and revealed its secrets.

The young cadet gasped as she saw the remains of a dead body. A human body, one that had been there for at least 3 years maybe more.

'It looks like a mummy from a museum,' Bulma thought, 'But how could something like this be in an old Capsule Corporation building?' She kept looking at it her morbid curiosity wanting to know more. She could see moisture beside the cadavers mouth. She wanting to know everything about this person's death. Along the side of the wall she saw strange burn marks that outlined the victim.

'Had this person been burned alive?' She wondered but marked it off the list this was not the corpse of a burn victim.

"Oh my god..."

Bulma turned to see the shocked face of the Security guard, "Lets get some air Dave..." Bulma said to him.

She was starting to feel nauseous the adrenaline was wearing off. She leaned against the wall as she felt her way along to the exit. As soon as the cool night air hit her Bulma buckled over feeling her stomach churn.

Dave the security guard had left her alone as he went to light up a cigarette.

"Do you mind if I have one?" Bulma asked weakly. "I'm trying to quit but I can't, not just now."

"Oh yeah sure..." Dave handed her over one from his pack and gave her his lighter.

Bulma took a moment to place it in her mouth and then sparked the lighter. The thick smoke filled her lungs and reminded her she was alive. She took a deep breath of the cool air and handed back the lighter.

She felt her hand tremble as she tried to puff on her cigarette. The body, the spaceship, Scalpel Jones and Vegeta. In some way these were all connected. As much of a genius as she was she wasn't sure if she had the mind to solve this case. She didn't know how to figure out how people worked, she couldn't figure out this killer. She needed Vegeta's help to see into the mind of this murderer. Whoever or whatever Scalpel Jones was, Vegeta knew.

He had seen or knew aliens like him, he knew of the motives of the drives to kill. This wasn't out of sexual pleasure, revenge, wrath or anything as simple as a normal killing.

She sighed and stubbed out the cigarette, she wished she hadn't smoked it now. The taste of nicotine was in her throat and she felt like having a drink in a bar. She stood up and tried to get her professional manner back. The flashing lights in the distance told her the reinforcements were arriving.

As soon as she got the body report she knew what she had to do, she had to see the Saiyan Prince again. She needed Vegeta.

000

In West City Asylum Vegeta looked up to his tiny barred window. His acute Saiyan hearing could make out the sirens. Even though he was dulled by the restraints of his cell this bought a smile to his lips and he continued with his deep blue picture. He swept a blue/green chalk adding hair to his figure. Yes, this was getting interesting for him.

He looked up to the camera and smirked.

"Tell Bulma I hope she found it." He said knowing full well Oolong would hear.

He continued with his figure drawing a dark black being added behind the figure, making it seem like a looming shadow.

"Yes, Bulma is very interesting..."He whispered. "Maybe even my key to escape and revenge."

000

Author's note: Well there you are chapter 3, not much from Vegeta but then he'll have more next chapter. Do wait till then!


	4. A Life at Stake

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or Silence of the Lambs.

Chapter 4

Bulma lay down on her bed as she tried to mull over in her head what exactly happened the other night. She had listened to the murderer and trusted his advice, explored a building to find a three year old body that had died a mysterious death.

"Hey... don't space out on me!" Her roommate said.

"Oh sorry, I've got a lot on my mind." Bulma said.

"No kidding!"

"Launch it's not as if I got told by Vegeta 'go here there's a body'," Bulma sighed. "How could he have know about something that happened 3 years ago?"

"Gee I don't know," Launch shrugged. "I'm more a combat person than a thinker I'll leave those kinds of things for genius's like yourself."

"Thanks..." Bulma sighed, "Damn I could really need a smoke..."

"I thought you quit?"

"Seeing a dead body can make life seem really short to care." Bulma moaned.

"Okay that's it time for a us to go round the assault course!" Launch pulled Bulma up on her feet and threw her trainers at her. "We're going for a jog!"

"Can't I leave the running for you? You're the fittest one!"

"No excuses, our physical examine is going to be coming along soon, you can't slack off and start smoking again!"

Bulma gritted her teeth hating the fact that Launch was right. She didn't like being told what to do but she guessed she would have to get used to it. Being an FBI cadet was tough and soon it was going to get tougher. She just hoped that she didn't have to worry about Vegeta for a while. Even though she had a hundred things she wanted to ask him. It was as if there was some hidden link that she was missing. Something that connected him with the alien that must have appeared three years ago.

She shook her head trying to loose these thoughts about Vegeta, Launch was shouting at her and a jog really looked good.

000

The news crew gathered around a large hallway. An urgent press conference had been called by the Mayor of West City. There hadn't been such a call since the Saiyans had landed 5 years ago. It had been peaceful times since then.

The mixture of photographers, journalists, television crew and police waited patiently as they could see the Mayor in the background. He was looking quite stressed and tired and already the journalists were making frantic notes.

This was going to be big, they could smell it. Some of the reporters had spotted well known members of the FBI. This had to be something serious, something that might mean another alien invasion.

The Mayor took the news stand and straightened his tie. A layer of sweet graced his brow and he mopped at it briefly.

The crowd remained silent, all except the sound of the news reporters talking directly to their camera's could be heard.

"Mayor Walker has taken the stand, we're all waiting to see what is so important to call this emergency news conference," The reporter said into her microphone. "We were only notified an hour ago and... oh I believe Mayor Walker is going to speak, I'll let him tell us what this is about..."

"I come to you today bringing urgent news, my daughter has been kidnapped."

There was a murmur among the crowd.

"There has been no ransom note nor have we had any phone calls from the kidnapper. We know she was taken 5 days ago in this city, she was spotted being bundled into a van and that was the last we have seen of her..." The Mayor paused as he tried to find his voice again. "I'm asking as a father please for the of my only child, Elizabeth to be returned to us. Her mother is frantic and wishes to only hold her in her arms."

The sadness showed in the Mayor's face, as he continued his plead.

"This is a Security camera of her last moments, please watch and if anyone has any additional information my wife and I will be very happy. We are offering a large reward for her return, 5 million Zen. We are not interested in punishing the criminal, we only want our daughter back."

As the Mayor said this the back screen started showing the van and daughter. The white van was hidden and it was hard to make out the details. The cameras focused on the screen as they watched Elizabeth Walker getting kidnapped by a cloaked individual. This was big news, there was a huge reward. The reporters lapped up every word and scribbled notes and took photographs.

The news started being broadcasted instantly, across the globe the news of the kidnap was aired. Bulma watched at the news from the FBI cadet recreation. She made a quick analysis of the Mayor's tactics.

"Seems to be trying to humanise the victim," Bulma said, chewing her pen.

"Standard manoeuvre in a kidnap case," Launch agreed. "Listen you ever think of anything besides FBI stuff?"

"Cigarettes," Bulma hissed chewing her pen harder.

Launch giggled and looked back to her own book.

000

It was a minor incident, the kidnap of a daughter but it did hold a hidden meaning to someone. Vegeta watched from his cell. The only time he actually paid attention to what the humans said. He noticed something and smirked. Oh yes, he knew the woman would be back. Things were going to get interesting from here on in.

He looked up to the camera and smirked.

"Tell the Woman that HE has got that girl," he said.

He waited, it was so predictable these Earthlings. Such patterned based creatures, he heard the anticipated clink of the heavy door being opened.

Warden Oolong walked briskly down the corridor. Vegeta tried to restrain his chuckle.

"What do you mean 'Tell the Woman that HE has got the girl'!?" The Warden snapped.

"You should address me correctly if you're wanting an answer Swine." Vegeta huffed. "I will only speak to the woman..."

"That little spec of a girl that you're obsessing about!?" Oolong ranted pointing at the portraits lined up against the cell wall. "She'd never let a monster like you into her pants!"

"She'd never let a Swine like you in either..." Vegeta said, knowing full well what consequences came from saying such a thing.

The shock of pain was instantaneous, Oolong pulled the lever beside Vegeta's cell and he was hit with a hundred volts of electricity. It was enough to kill an ordinary human being but it couldn't kill a Saiyan. Even with the dampening shield draining his power, his body was still strong and could survive from being fried by the electricity. It still hurt though, Vegeta grunted in pain as he restrained from screaming out. He hunched over panting and waiting for another blast from Warden Oolong's toy. It never came, looked up to see the angry pig watching him from behind the glass.

"I'll pass on your message, Vegeta," Oolong whispered. "But don't expect to be rewarded, we have other ways of finding out what you know without waving a pretty girl in front of you."

Vegeta smirked as he heard the pig leave. He wasn't going to say anything more, it gave the Warden too much satisfaction to hear his broken voice. He would wait till they sent the woman. The pig was bluffing if they had any way of making him talk as Oolong threatened they would have done it a long time ago. No, this was going to have to go the old fashioned way, from a simple chat.

The planet wasn't advanced enough to have any psychics that weren't fakes. He'd seen plenty from the television all vowing they could see ghosts or speak to the dead. If he was a prisoner on any other planet then the psychics would have been brought in to tear the information from his brain.

He rolled over onto his back and looked at the familiar and hated ceiling. This was all now a waiting game and Vegeta had been waiting for almost five years now. It was nothing to wait another few weeks.

He winced as the TV changed to the evangelist channel and the sharp voice of the man preaching yelled out. He covered his ears and tried to block it out.

'Yes, all I have to do now is wait.' He thought, 'The woman will come to me soon enough,"

00

Two days later...

000

"Ah so glad you came Bulma, please sit down."

Bulma nodded and said her thanks to Director Piccolo. This was the second time this week she had been in the Head of the Departments office. The portraits along the wall were starting to become familiar to her.

"I assume you've read over my report sir."

"Yes, and I think it's very interesting but still didn't explain why you felt the need to go to that warehouse in West City."

Bulma blushed she had tried to omit anything too personal, what could she say she trusted what a murderer said?

"Um... it's hard to explain in words Sir it was just a gut feeling."

"Ah..." Director Piccolo said, "So when Prince Vegeta spoke to you here in the confusion of the controlling of the prisoners, he never said anything of value."

He placed a photograph down on the desk it showed Bulma right up against the cell wall talking to the Prince.

"What he said was crude and not something I'd like to repeat." Bulma said blushing again. "He mentioned something to me about a warehouse but it was incredibly vague. I went to the warehouse by my own violation."

"Yes it was in the report and what of the questionnaire?" Director Piccolo asked.

"I'm still reading through it Sir, I'm almost finished but I've been really busy with my classes."

"Yes, I understand, but now we'd like you to concentrate on helping us be a liaison for Prince Vegeta he has chosen you and it is clear he knows something." Director Piccolo's face became grim. "Have you heard on the news about the Mayor's daughter?"

"Yes Sir."

"Prince Vegeta saw the news report and made another of his vague comments, perhaps hinting that Scalpel Jones has the girl."

"How can we be sure?"

"We can't Bulma, that's the problem so it's not as high a priority as it should be but the Mayor has ordered that we use any leads to find his daughter. If it is Scalpel Jones that has her then she could still be alive."

"I read the report Sir." Bulma shuddered. "The scientists believe that he keeps his victims alive for weeks trying to fatten them up for whatever reason."

"Yes, so we may have some time but not much, you're going to West City today and I'd like a copy of the questionnaire and whatever else smallest detail you've omitted from your previous report." Piccolo said sternly. "We don't have time to skirt around any politeness, I want all the facts crude or not."

"Yes Sir I understand." Bulma stood up.

"Here's an envelope with all the necessary information your plane leaves in four hours, make sure you're on it." Director Piccolo said, "Please remember to be careful Bulma, this creature though he looks human is far from it. I want a phone call from you after your interview with Vegeta. I want you to stay safe, your mind and body."

"I understand Sir but Prince Vegeta is a monster I know that." Her bottom lip trembled slightly as she spoke. "If he hadn't come to this planet then my parents would still be alive and I would have a business to inherit instead of worrying about FBI training."

"Well, I can relieve you of that worry Bulma." Piccolo said. "Your tutors have been informed of your private mission for the FBI and they know you will be absent these next few weeks as you help with our case."

"Thank you Sir," Bulma sighed.

Piccolo noticed the sigh, but he intended to ignore it. "The plane is leaving in four hours Cadet Briefs, you best make preparations now."

"Yes sir!" Bulma said and turned quickly to leave.

"I want all the information you retrieve from Vegeta. A life depends on you now Bulma. Don't let that young girl down."

"Understood Sir," Bulma said as she left. Though part of her was dreading what waited for her. The monster Vegeta was the only thing that had ruffled her resolve.

These past few years all her focus had been on her aim of becoming a Federal Agent, to investigate and stop aliens, killers and any law breakers from changing peoples future. She had a future five years ago, now all she had was a cadet agent being used as a message girl between a killer she hated.

She arrived at her room and collapsed on the floor, why did she need to go back there so soon?

It was a few minutes before Bulma could find the strength to stand up again. She needed to do this, if she didn't face him now then he would forever haunt her. There was a life on the line now. A girl probably about the same age as her. She couldn't let this happen again. Not to another person just like her. That was why she had joined the FBI now she had a chance to start doing what she wanted to do.

She just wished it didn't involve the one that was responsible for changing her life so much. He was the monster she had blamed for so long for the deaths of all those people, of her parents. Bulma knew if she needed to move on with her life she had to face this demon.

There was no silencing the screams of the past until she did this.

000

A dry scream cried out as a young girl woke up from her nightmare into a real living nightmare. Betty Walker didn't know how long she'd been lying on the floor for. She didn't know how long this thing was going to keep her alive. She had refused his food but she was starting to get too hungry. Anything was starting to look good for her now.

The slop the he threw down at her everyday, it was drugged with God only knows what. It always made her collapse and wake up with a sick feeling in her stomach.

Her father had to be looking for her by now. Even though she was independent of her parents he still looked out for her.

"Daddy..." She sobbed. "I don't want to die..."

"It will be quiet!" Hissed the voice.

"I don't want to die..." She repeated.

"It makes unnecessary noise!" The voice yelled.

A high pitch noise came out of nowhere and Betty rushed to cover her ears. She didn't know what the sound was but it always made her fall unconscious. She struggled to stay awake but it hurt so much. She sobbed as she felt like her ear drums were going to explode. She gave one last cry of protest and then dropped to the ground.

Something jumped into the pit and landed beside her. The thing inspected her body pinching the skin tightly. It made a clucking noise and threw the arm back onto the ground.

"Its not fattening up..." The monster hissed. "I picked a stubborn one."

It kicked the girl making a strange clucking noise and leapt out of the hole. The hole was at least 8 foot deep but this seemed like a small jump for the strange alien.

"Just this last one, then I will be ready..." It hissed, "Fatten up my little stock, we need you to be bigger. How am I going to reach the Prince till then."

It walked in a crab like fashion out of the prison room and into a slightly cleaner but still dark room. It pulled at some papers and looked at its prize. A large board pasted with yellow glue of different newspaper clippings. All of them very old looking and as if they'd been taken from the garbage. Each news article was about a certain Saiyan and the invasion. It made a different clucking noise as if laughing.

"Soon I'll find you Prince..." It clucked. "Soon you'll be dead just like that human scrum will be."

000

Author's Note: Ooh, mostly talking this chapter and no Bulma Vegeta interaction. I think that was why I wanted to write this story for the B/V chatting, zero sex but plenty of chemistry.

Next chapter: Bulma's back to the dungeon and facing the Prince again.


	5. Visiting the monster

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z nor Silence of the Lambs.

Chapter 5

The West City Prison for the Criminally insane hadn't changed, it was still a tall grey building with zero endearing characteristics. Bulma Briefs tried to find her courage, after a unrestful sleep in a hotel she had been dreading this morning trip. She had things to ask Vegeta but she knew it would come a price. He would want to know information about her and her past. Ammo for him to use against her if she did tell her.

She gripped her briefcase tight, it contained information for Vegeta about this case. She had papers for the Warden that she knew he would ask for. This was her third time here. She wished this was finally her last time, but she doubted it.

Bulma flashed her ID to the guards and made her way inside. Warden Oolong was in his office and seemed to be refusing to meet her. Mr Popo was standing there in his place.

"Nice to see you again Cadet Briefs," He said, "Everything's been made ready though it might seem a little different from last time."

"Okay, I'm ready." Bulma said. "Just take me down there. If I hang around here I might not find the courage," She winced as an inmate let out a loud scream in the background. Bulma warily followed Mr Popo down to the place she had so many nightmares about.

"It's changed a little since you last came," Popo explained. "All the other inmates have been removed. There was an accident..."

"An accident?"

"The man from the cell next to Vegeta, Donny swallowed his own tongue." Mr Popo said. "We don't have much proof but we believe Vegeta's midnight whispering to the man drove him to it."

Bulma looked appalled. "Was that the man that threw that stuff at me?"

"Don't take that as a compliment." Popo said. "He just used it as an excuse to get rid of his neighbour. He hated Don as much as Warden Oolong, it was only a matter of time really."

"I see."

"Even though there's only Prince Vegeta down there, the rules still apply." Pop said. "Stay behind the yellow line and don't let him intimidate you. You're all alone down there if something were to happen it would take us a minute to get to you. That would be all the time the Prince would need to destroy you."

"But I thought he was as weak as a kitten because of that draining sheild."

"Ever been scratched by an angry kitten?" Popo asked. "He may be weak but that only means he has the normal strength of an average human. His strength before the shield was probably a level you couldn't imagine."

Bulma was reminded of the time she gave into his provoking and went up against the barrier, he had only taken a single hair, but what if he hadn't liked her. She would have been killed.

"I'll try to remember." Bulma said faintly.

"Well here we are 'ma'am." Popo said and pointed to the door. "We put a chair out for you and I'll be watching. If anything happens it'll be a few minutes before my men and I can get to you."

"Understood."

The thick door opened and Bulma made her way down the dreaded corridor. The same cold light beckoned her forward. The empty cages that had once held screaming prisoners were silent. It felt eerier than before and Bulma concentrated on the chair, putting one foot in front of the other. As she got closer she could see the Prince standing in the middle of his cell as before. His arms crossed as he watched her walking.

"Cadet Bulma Briefs you're late," he said.

"I didn't know I'd made an appointment Prince Vegeta." She said sitting down and staring directly at the saiyan.

"I asked for you personally, aren't you flattered?"

"Not really, I wasn't aware that I had made such a good impression."

"Maybe not a good impression," Vegeta sneered. "More like your easily readable face and gullible character. Did you find the building I mentioned, I bet you found the first one. It must have been a pretty corpse."

"The scientists haven't finished analysing it." Bulma said. "We know the victim is human but what we don't know is why you knew where it was. It happened three years ago. I don't suppose you could shed some light on that Prince Vegeta?"

"I'm sorry, that's all I really want to say on that subject." Vegeta said. "I have sources I'd like to protect."

"Sources that you're not going to name I take it."

"I want to change the subject Bulma, what happened three years ago is old news." Vegeta purred. "Let's talk about what's on the news now."

"You mean the Mayor of West city's daughter?" Bulma asked. "That's another mystery you've brought up Prince Vegeta. How did you know from a blurry CCTV footage that the man that abducted Elizabeth was the one and only Scalpel Jones?"

"I never said that, I only implied that HE had got the girl." Vegeta said. "You humans read too much into things when it's really quite simple."

"It would make it simpler for us if you'd just tell us."

"No, that would be easy and painless." Vegeta said. "I want something back in return for what I give. An exchange, as we talked about last time."

"You've got the solitary you asked for even if you enforced that yourself."

"The vermin tainted my senses, sharing the same air as them made me want to puke." Vegeta sneered. "That fat slob took the easy way out, I had much nicer plans for him."

"But you can't do anything Vegeta, the most you could do was talk to him."

"Whatever makes you feel safe Cadet." Vegeta smiled crookedly and made Bulma shudder. "The fat slob was only in this prison because he'd raped some women. Really it makes me wonder about this world's justice."

"What do you mean?"

"That he actually got punished for raping women, in my home world that would be considered a perk of being a male." Vegeta chuckled. "It's a way of putting women in their place."

"That's disgusting!" Bulma snapped.

"Oh I see it's disgusting, shall we change the subject again you look as if you're going to explode with rage."

"I'm fine..." Bulma hissed.

"If it makes you feel any better little Cadet I've never raped a woman." He stepped forward looking directly towards Bulma. "Every woman I've met have either thrown themselves at me like some desperate animal in heat or they've been persuaded by my charm. I can be very persuasive."

"You're not that charming."

"Hmm, I see is that what you think." Vegeta nodded. "Then tell me why did you go to that building that I told you about, the one I couldn't possibly have known was there."

"I believed you..." Bulma whispered.

"There you go see, I'm persuasive." He smirked again showing that he had won this small battle. "Well, I feel I've said enough. Now I need to know about you, Cadet Bulma Briefs."

"I'm a cadet in the FBI soon to graduate and become a full agent." Bulma said. "That's all I really want you to know."

"But I'd like to know more, this is an exchange is it not?"

"Why is my personal life important for this case?" Bulma asked.

"So I believe that I can trust the woman that is my liaison." Vegeta stated shrugging his shoulders.

"No, it's so you can get information about me so you can play those head games of yours."

"It's all about trust Bulma, if I get to know you human woman, I'll trust you. If I trust you I'll feel I can help you and solve this little case for you. Then you can be the star of the FBI and run home to daddy to tell him how well you did."

"My father is dead." Bulma said in a flat voice.

"You seem quite angry about that Bulma, tell me more."

"I don't want to talk about it, especially to _you_!"

"It happened five years ago didn't it?" Vegeta smirked watching the woman shake with anger. He could smell her hatred it was like an exotic perfume to him.

"Yes," Bulma said sharply. "It happened during the Saiyan attack on Earth."

"I see so you blame me for your father's death?"

"My parents, they both died from a large energy blast caused by one of your men." Bulma explained. "Their home, pets everything was destroyed in that large blast. I wasn't there at the time when I came home to the large crater that was my home a few days later I found out the truth. I found out I had become a homeless orphan."

"How old were you?"

"Fifteen, I wasn't old enough to take over my father's business so I ended up being looked after by my uncle." Bulma sniffed trying to hold back the tears. She didn't like talking about this. There was still so many painful memories she wanted to keep hidden.

"So that's why you're an FBI agent then?"

"It took me four years after that to get to this stage." Bulma said.

"I bet you hate me then," Vegeta said.

"I don't hate you Vegeta, I despise you." Bulma hissed. "But I know my duty, a girl's life is in danger and she comes first over any personal feelings I have."

"How noble," Vegeta said in a patronising voice, "but don't try to push your human morals onto me, I don't have any. I don't care if this girl lives or dies."

"You only care for yourself." Bulma coldly said, "will you look at these case files as you promised?"

"I will," Vegeta sighed. "Place it in my box, at least it will numb my boredom for a moment."

Bulma nodded and stepped forward towards the drawer. Vegeta stood back his hands behind his head. He smiled at her showing his canines. Bulma shuddered and looked around his cell, something was missing and she couldn't quite tell what.

"Oh, your drawings!" She gasped as she closed the drawer.

"Took your time to notice Bulma," Vegeta whispered right beside her.

Bulma leapt back as she saw that Vegeta had somehow got right up against the cell. She stared at him wild eyed her heart pounding. The warning from Mr Popo was still going through her head.

"Glad to see you looking so lively," Vegeta chuckled. "The drawings were confiscated as part of my punishment. The warden is probably burning them in the boiler as we speak. He's a little shaken by your visits you see, his masculinity isn't as strong as mine, he's threatened by a woman in a seat of power. Though I must say your seat of power is the weakest one I've ever seen."

"I'm only a cadet as you keep reminding me Vegeta, I wouldn't call myself a woman in a seat of power." Bulma said shaking her previous scare.

"Oh but you are Bulma," Vegeta continued. "I only intend to speak to you, do you know how much that pisses off that pig?"

Bulma shrugged, "I guess a lot."

"Right, and now you see my other reasons for keeping you as my liaison." Vegeta said. "Which is why he tries to hurt me in his petty ways. At least I know one of my drawings is safe."

"What do you mean?"

"You've forgotten, I'm hurt," Vegeta said in a mocking sad voice. "The drawing I put in your little questionnaire, I thought you would have looked at it by now. It is my favourite piece."

"I was afraid to look to be honest." Bulma said remembering, "it's still in my case file back at the hotel."

"Then I suggest you look at it and tell me what you think." Vegeta said, "Or are you worried that it will be a naked picture of you."

"That thought had crossed my mind." Bulma answered truthfully.

"At least your honest." Vegeta smirked. "Then look at my drawing and when you come back tomorrow tell me what you think."

"Tomorrow?" Bulma squeaked. 'I have to come back so soon?' she added in her head.

"Yes, then I will tell you what I think of this Scalpel Jones, time is running out as you said for the girl."

"I thought you didn't care?" Bulma asked.

"I don't but I know if she dies then there will be little hope of me ever having any bargaining power like this again."

"So this is about power?"

"Everything is about power," Vegeta grinned. "Who has it, who wants it and who serves it. That's all there is to this little existence of ours."

"You make everything sound so cold." Bulma sighed. "I promise I will be back tomorrow then. As you said time is running out."

"Bye-bye Bulma," Vegeta sang, "Don't forget again, next time I won't be so forgiving if you hurt my feelings again."

"Understood Prince Vegeta." Bulma said, standing up.

She walked back towards the heavy security door all the while listening to Vegeta chuckling to himself. "Heh, heh, heh, heh" Bulma would never understand that alien and she didn't want to know. Mr Popo greeted her and he escorted her off the property.

000

A few miles from the prison there stood the large Police station of West City. At the moment it was in a panic. A parcel had arrived marked for 'he who is in charge'. It had been brought to the Chief of Police and after he opened it the whole building was in chaos. The Chief had cried out for the top forensic units on the double and it hadn't taken long for the gossip to spread around the station.

The parcel had contained a slice of skin, bloody and freshly cut. It had been placed inside a plastic bag and a letter along side it was being analysed.

"What the hell is that?" The chief choked as he tried to recover from the shock.

"Skin sir."

"I know that!" The chief shouted. "But what kind of skin is it?"

"Um, chief Bradley we can't be one hundred percent sure at this time but I believe it's human skin." The scientist said meekly. "There's a tattoo of a bird and it has stretch marks. At a guess I'd say it was the thigh."

"Good lord!" chief Bradley exclaimed. "That explains this letter."

"Sir what does it say?"

"Here Hardy see for yourself, I wasn't able to read it all. I noticed the skin half way through." Chief Bradley passed the letter across to the expert with a tissue. "As soon as I found out what it was I've used this tissue so I don't get fingerprints on it but I think there might be one or two."

"That's okay sir it can't be helped." Hardy sighed and began to read out loud for the other forensics. "I have the Elizabeth, it is my stock. It is not being returned. It will take you many days to find me and by then it will all be too late. The Earth is doomed and I will soon free myself from its bounds. You keep a bad evil Saiyan but I will soon have power to kill it. It will be dead just like everyone of you. Prince Vegeta is next after my Elizabeth stock is finished. Prince Vegeta is dead. Kill him now if you want to live Earth."

"What the...?" Bradley snapped. "Get the damn FBI on the phone this is beyond our jurisdiction!"

"Right away sir!"

"Someone get me a coffee and move those chumps listening in by the door!"

There was screams as the eavesdropping officers were discovered and the chaos continued in the police station. The identity of the killer was now apparent to them, it wasn't a human it was an alien. It was just like five years ago only now more terrifying, this monster was hiding soon to pounce!

000

On the other side of West city Bulma was unaware of the problems the police were facing. Her only problem at the moment was the electronic door to her hotel room.

'Okay slip in key, green light, open...shit locked.'

She tried for the fifth time when she finally got the correct combination of key and handle coordination.

"Damn hotel doors." Bulma muttered as the reluctant door swung open. She threw her briefcase on the bed and kicked off her cheap shoes. She collapsed on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She had survived her third meeting with the Prince. He was charming, she couldn't deny it. Vegeta had a way of making her speak her mind. She hated him, she shouldn't trust him as much! Her own personal hatred was because of what happened to her parents. The explosion that had ripped apart Capsule Corporation, making it bankrupt in one foul swoop.

She wiped away the stray tears, she had held it in. She had wanted to cry so badly. She expected Prince Vegeta would enjoy that, watching a little human suffering would give him comfort in his cold cell. She would never give him that pleasure. To think that she had never told anyone what had happened. They all knew as soon as they heard the name Bulma Briefs. She was a famous casualty of the war. Her sad story had been everywhere and she never got anything but sympathy for it. The sad tale of a rich girl made penniless. It didn't make for any charity money. There was a lot sadder stories across the world after the Saiyans had attacked, a lot more people that didn't even have a long lost relative to go to.

She sat up and looked across at her large case file. The questionnaire was in there. Bulma was curious about what he had drawn. Though she always thought it would be something crude put there to make her mad.

'But I don't really understand the Prince so why should it be what I think it is?'

She walked across and picked up the large portable filing cabinet. The original questionnaire was still in here, she had still to hand it in for the experts to analise. She had never found the time, she had never made the time. Bulma found it and took it out. It hadn't really been answered correctly. Vegeta had skirted around the questions or refused to answer. It was pretty much worthless. It had been the FBI's way of introducing her and making the Prince interested. Which was why she had never handed it in. It reminded her how much she was being used like a tool. She hated knowing that they had used her gullibility and naivity but then Vegeta had said he liked that about her.

'Yeah, he can read me like a book.' she thought to herself.

"Well Bulma, time to face the drawing..." Bulma said out loud. She flicked to the last page and held her breath. She let out a squeal as she looked at the chalk drawing. It was beautiful a combination of blue and red chalk with a bit of black and white. But she was drawn in the middle of the drawing naked! It was similar to the famous _Birth of Venus_, in the original the goddess rose from the sea on a shell; but in Vegeta's drawing nstead of a blue sea it was red, like blood. The shell that the original stood on was now a circle of human skulls. It was grotesque and beautiful in the same time.

Bulma stared at the naked drawing of herself unable to form any other thought. She had been right! 'That bastard...'

In the back of her mind she heard the cold chuckling of the Prince. The same laugh that had followed her out of the prison. "Heh, heh, heh, heh,"

0000

Next chapter: Bulma has a new task and Vegeta wants to make a deal.


	6. Things are changing

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z nor Silence of the Lambs.

Chapter 6

For Bulma Briefs this had been the worst month in her life. She knew that she should be concentrating on her studies but this was not going to happen. Not when a mass murderer wanted to use her as a go between. She wasn't going to fool herself into thinking she was important here. She was just a flag to wave at the bull. She accepted that fact now though it only made her angry. She shook herself as she was reminded of that man.

She had ripped out the drawing and crumbled it up. 'That obnoxious man, since when had he been able to copy an old painting from Earth's history?' She thought. He had drawn her naked just to provoke her. He seemed to live off her anger, he always smirked when she snapped at him. That wasn't the reaction she was used to. Bulma vowed to herself not to fall for his bait. She picked up the offensive paper and looked at it again. It was evidence, she couldn't throw it away no matter what her personal opinion.

'I guess it won't hurt to omit it.'

She remembered the warning she had received from Director Piccolo, no matter how obscene... she should not hide anything. Her hands shook, she did look beautiful in the drawing it was so delicately done. If she compared it to the previous drawings she had seen then thought his marks on the paper were thinner, as she said it looked delicate. Bulma wavered, she felt like this was meant only for her eyes. Not for others, not the pig or her boss, only her.

As she'd proven to herself she did understand the prince. It made her despise herself. Bulma knew her previous promise she'd made on the day her parents died. She wasn't going to give into her own desires. If she hadn't been running about looking for a mystery magic balls then her family would be alive. If she had just been there to force them to evacuate. She knew why her parents hadn't ran for shelter. They never gave a second thought for their own safety they had been soon laid back and easy going. If the Saiyans had arrived at Capsule Corporation she knew her mother would have just invited them for tea. The idea of running for your life didn't even enter into their heads.

They had stayed...

She had thought it was the Saiyans fault, but it wasn't.

She even thought for a moment, as she did now, that it was her fault.

'No, that's not it. The only people who were at fault were my parents. My parents were the ones that stayed. They would have had the choice to evacuate.'

She slumped down on her hotel bed, tears coming from her eyes. Bulma took one last look at Vegeta's drawing. Her heart told her to keep it, it wasn't for anyone's eyes but her. She held it tight and continued crying, her parents death seemed like it happened yesterday.

Bulma heard her mobile ringing and ignored it. She was only a messenger she wasn't needed.

000

This was the best month for Vegeta since he'd come to Earth. He sat flicking through his book, chuckling at a part he found funny. Since the woman had come the FBI had been bending over backwards to keep him happy. Though Warden Oolong was trying harder to keep him down in the dirt. It wouldn't be long the one they called Jones would make his move.

Vegeta knew he was at his most weakest. Now was the best time to strike him down. Jones was his enemy, It helped him as well, if they caught him before he could fully become a threat then he would live a little longer. He had to admit that the culture on the planet he named Dirt was much more interesting than he would let others believe.

He put down the History book, he'd had enough enjoyment. He could smell the pig coming. It slighted his good mood and made him snarl again. He hid his book with his foot and stood up. Even though he didn't respect or like the pig he still considered himself a solider. He would still stand to attention when a superior officer entered his presence.

He would stand for the pig for now...

000

The FBI didn't know what to make of the message sent to the police. The experts couldn't confirm if the handwriting was done by an alien or human. It seemed like an impossible task. The only thing they did know was that the blood type matched Elizabeth's. They had taken DNA samples from the parents and were busy analysing and comparing the samples. It would take a few days for the results even with the labs working at full capacity.

Director Piccolo scowled and tried his cadet's number again. She wasn't at the asylum that was the only reason he could think of why she wasn't answering.

He held the phone to his head and finally heard a click of someone picking up.

"Eh..(sniff).. hello?"

"Cadet Briefs, Piccolo here. There has been a change in situation can you come to the city morgue I will meet you there and fill you in."

"Yes Sir!" Bulma answered.

"That's a better answer and Bulma whatever emotional problems you have at the moment please leave at the hotel room. You'll need a clear head for what I'm going to tell you."

"Yes Sir, understood."

"Very good, I'll see you in an hour then."

"One hour, okay. Goodbye Sir."

Piccolo cut the phone off, he hated them. Talking on the phone was such a hassle, he always liked to keep it short and to the point.

"Okay, whoever is not busy with work get me a coffee!" He shouted.

"Yes Sir!" A young man volunteered.

Piccolo looked at the copy of the note again. There was no doubt, this Jones was connected to Vegeta. It was confirmed, this just meant that any interviews with him were now at a higher priority. He shook his head and picked up his small phone again. There was a man he needed to tell about this straight away. This changed the situation with Vegeta immediately.

000

Warden Oolong stood looking at his prisoner with complete contempt.

"I don't get you Vegeta, really I'll be a man and admit that." Oolong said. "Here you are in a maximum security asylum charged with mass murder and destruction of whole towns and cities. Yet you're reading."

Vegeta said nothing, he could see the paper in Oolong's hand. It had to be his library check out list.

"Let's see, this one's interesting. The Renaissance Period you check that one out after the woman arrived. A murderer interested in Art?"

"I don't expect you to understand me at all," Vegeta sneered. "Though I bet all your papers you've written claiming you do makes an extra little bit of profit on the side."

"That brings me to these other books," Oolong said ignoring his taunt. "Frugal systems, some law books and a book on the Geography of Earth. As a casual observer it looks like you're learning about Earth so you can survive when you escape."

"That would be your assumption, is it?"

"Yes it is," Oolong snapped. "Also this last book sickens me, the anatomy of humanoids. I see you've returned that book and the page was bent over at the pages detailing the pig humanoid."

"That was the most fascinating part of the book." Vegeta said showing his fangs as he smiled. "Such delicate meat, it made my mouth water."

"Which is never going to happen!" Oolong yelled. "You're my little caged monkey. Trying to act smart and do some tricks for the pretty cadet doesn't really impress me but I'll let you into a secret. You are forever my prisoner. I will die of old age in full knowledge that you are still in a cage with drool coming down your chin thinking of the good old days when you had a young girl at your beckon call!"

"That is a nice vivid image."

"Yes, and what's more my lab boys have finally completed that serum they have been working on."

Vegeta stayed silent he didn't like the sound of that.

"It's such a work of art. We want to test it out today, that's the good news I came to say," Oolong grinned. He looked back down the corridor and shouted, "Okay bring the nurse!"

Vegeta stared at the pig who was gloating at him.

"What's with that face Vegeta?" Oolong asked. "Just wait till you see the nurse I found, she's such a uncanny resemblance to your only friend."

The nurse appeared along with a few security guards and it took a moment for Vegeta to adjust. At first he thought it was his little Cadet Bulma but the smell was wrong, very wrong. The hair and eyes were the same colour but the woman just looked at him blankly. There was no fire in those eyes, she had a vacant look and smiled at Oolong. It was really the smell that attacked Vegeta's senses the most. The woman had some sort of artificial fragrance on her, it stunk of flowers and chemicals.

"Warden Oolong, I brought your medicine for the patient." She said in a floaty voice.

"Good work Nurse Marron," Oolong praised her. "Now just wait a second while we get this monkey restrained, he's a bit of an animal but not like me."

The girl giggled and thanked the Warden. Vegeta curled his lip, this woman was a slut he recognised her type.

"Now Vegeta as I was saying, this serum will sedate all your powers."

Vegeta laughed not believing him.

"Look at this ki shield, do you deny we created this?" Oolong asked. "This is just one step further, it goes directly into your blood and attaches to your DNA structure that is responsible for ki control. It represses it and makes you into a helpless normal human. In fact it might even reduce your strength seeing as you use your little power in everything you do."

Vegeta stopped laughing and stared at the bottle.

"It may be permanent, the boys in the lab aren't sure of that one." Oolong said. "But we're going to find out once we inject you, won't that be fun?"

Vegeta kept quiet, this was not a good development.

"Okay guys, get the animal restrained." Oolong said to his guards.

The large men bowed to Vegeta, "Please step back Prince Vegeta." they asked.

Vegeta could tell they had been speaking to Mr. Popo. He did as they said and stepped towards the holes in the back of his cell. The two men came in and pushed him against the wall, then bolts came out of the holes wrapping around him. The prince grunted and continued to stare at the woman, her smell was sickening. He could see her from the corner of his eye. She was staring at him not in fear but in lust. She liked his body he could tell, her hormones were giving off what would be an arousing aroma but combined with the strong perfume turned into a clashing stench that brought bile to the back of his mouth. That woman was not coming near him. He didn't fear the injection he knew his Saiyan genes could not be suppressed so easily, it was the woman that repelled him.

He was strapped into the restraints and pinned against the wall. The guards stood back and motioned to the nurse to move forward.

"You're so short yet muscular," she chirped.

"Miss, please don't speak to him." The guard advised, he saw the look of disgust in Vegeta's eyes.

"No, Nurse Marron, make your patient as comfortable as you like." Oolong shouted from the safety of outside the cage.

"Of course Warden." Marron called back she came towards Vegeta unafraid. The woman was one of those airheads that never thought there was any danger. That men would do anything for a woman because she had a pretty face. "Okay darling, this won't take a minute."

She didn't notice the twitch of Vegeta's eyebrow as she said the word, 'darling' but he muted any objects he had.

She lifted the small bottle of pale green liquid, Oolong's miracle cure. Vegeta remained confident, he was a Saiyan prince it would take more than a chemical to stop his birthright. They hypodermic needle was stabbed into the bottle and Nurse Marron tapped it to get rid of the air bubbles. She smiled at the Saiyan, she didn't think he looked that dangerous. Especially as he was held down by steel restraints.

Vegeta's large muscles tensed and the needle tapped against the hard skin.

"Please relax, it will be less painful," Marron advised.

Vegeta grounded his teeth, her smell was stronger when she was close to him. The needle was forced into the muscle, Marron grunted it took all her strength to push it into his arm. Vegeta jerked with pain and lunged at the nurse. His fangs bared, he tore into her flesh, she screamed and fell on the floor. The Saiyan roared in triumph, the taste of blood was his again, so fresh. Yes, the woman was better as a meal than living.

One of the guards pulled the bleeding female to safety while the other flicked the emergency switch. Electricity cascaded into Vegeta's body and his small victory was lost. He slumped in his restraints as he fell unconscious, the screams of the woman making him smile. He felt as if it had been worth it.

"My face, my face!" Marron stammered, shock taking over her. The large guard lead her out of the high security. Warden Oolong watched the girl go, fear was obvious in his face.

"When that scum wakes up make sure he's fully restraint! I mean the works!" Oolong snapped. "Damn what made that alien bastard do that?"

"Sir, I thought you were an expert on him?" A guard asked innocently. His eyes hid his real contempt for the Warden.

"Shut up, did I ask you to speak!" Oolong yelled. "And wipe that blood off him it seemed to make him go crazy!"

"The Prince is already crazy..." The guard muttered under his breath.

"SIR!" A new guard appeared in the doorway.

"What is it, did the nurse say she was going to sue?"

"Uh... no it's not that, just there's a phone call from the FBI." The Guard answered.

"If it's that cadet it can wait."

"No Sir, it's from the Chief Director of the FBI, he said it was urgent."

"Oh very well, there's nothing more to do here now anyway." Oolong walked into the cage and pulled out the empty needle. "I've done what I've came here for."

000

In the city morgue, Bulma waited in a small room. She could feel herself being watched by the camera. The table in the centre of the room had an ashtray she tapped it thoughtfully.

"Have I kept you long Cadet?" Piccolo asked as he entered.

"No Sir," Bulma said, she stood to attention.

"You may sit Cadet. We might be here a while." Piccolo sighed. "The situation with Vegeta had changed slightly. Jones wants him dead."

"Huh?" Bulma was confused. "I don't understand, how do we know this?"

"Because Scalpel Jones was kind enough to send a letter saying so. He even included a sample piece of skin to prove he was who he says he was."

"We're not going to kill Prince Vegeta are we?"

"No, but now his profile has been made more of a priority and a Cadet being an interviewer would not look good." Piccolo said. "This is coming from higher up in the command. You'll need to be quick and go back to Vegeta and get the last bit of information that you can. Time is shorter than we thought now."

"I see."

"It gets worse, the Mayor is wanting to deal with the Saiyan Prince directly." Piccolo said. "He thinks he can appeal to his better nature."

"Prince Vegeta has a better nature?"

"I doubt it, but there's nothing I can say to convince him otherwise." Piccolo said. "I'm going to have to give you a meager job to fill in. I still want you on the case. It's not much but the body that you found has been identified as a Capsule Corps employee that stayed on after the takeover. It's just we don't know who that person is, no-one has reported missing."

"How do you know the body was from Capsule Corps?" Bulma asked.

"The ID chip that is implanted in the hand of every employee that worked in your father's lab. After the takeover that system was thrown out."

"It was my father's invention." Bulma explained more for herself than her boss, "He said his staff always lost their cards so it saved on making new ones. He was really just making it for himself. He was the only one that lost his card."

"That's right," Piccolo said softly. "Your father was a bit forgetful."

"Just a bit..." Bulma mumbled. "But won't ex-employees recognise me?"

"Maybe, it doesn't matter now does it?" Piccolo said. "We've listed as many men and woman who left the company after and during the start of the takeover. They're our best lead to finding where the alien went after it killed this mystery man."

"So the body was male," Bulma said. "But if there was still an ID chip wouldn't that give his identity?"

"Any information on the chip had been completely destroyed, we only knew it was a Capsule Corps ID chip because of the icon."

"So this is the only lead to the person's identity." Bulma stated.

"Right, there's a slim chance that this alien has taken the first victim's identity. The victim was definitely a Capsule Corps employee, just no one has died or been filed as missing. It's strange, we need to investigate it and it'll take a lot of footwork."

"So after I speak to Vegeta I'm going to be knocking on doors?"

"I'm afraid so Cadet Briefs." Piccolo said. "I still want you on this case, this isn't the end for you. You're going to make a fine Agent Bulma, you'd make your father proud."

"Thank you sir."

In a way Bulma was glad, she didn't like facing Vegeta. He was hard to get out of her head thought she tried to shake the odd feeling of disappointment. She tried to look forward to the dull footwork that waited for her. Something that would take her mind away from the Saiyan Prince that was able to get under her skin. Bulma lifted up her new assignment from her Director and gave her thanks. She had only one thing left to do now, visit the Prince and say goodbye.

000

"You've got a visitor Prince Vegeta," Mr Popo called out.

"Good I've been expecting her." Vegeta smiled.

"It's not Cadet Briefs," Mr Popo said. "It's the Mayor, please be on your best behaviour your Highness."

"Oh don't worry I will," Vegeta grinned. His fanged smile was hard to see behind the mask he was wearing. The new punishment for Vegeta for ripping off Oolong's favourite nurse's face. The Saiyan pulled at his straightjacket but it held him firm. It held him in a metal frame that was on wheels.

"Mr. Popo do apologise to the Mayor that I won't be able to shake his hand." Vegeta said loudly. "I did want to do so..."

"I'll let him know Prince Vegeta." Mr Popo said calmly.

The large guard left the Prince to collect the guest. Vegeta heard the clank of the shutting door and was left to the silence of his own thoughts. Things were starting to move now, the one named Jones must have made a mistake.

'He should have waited the fool,' Vegeta thought. 'Now, I am free to make a deal. You have given me more power than you realize. What an impatient idiot you are Jones, I can't wait to see what they'll do when they catch you.'

The door clanked open again and Vegeta heard the heavy footsteps of a fat man and woman. They smelled of fine rich things, they had money and power. They were the new tool given to him by Jone's mistake.

"Good Morning Prince Vegeta." The Mayor greeted him. "I am Mayor Walker and this is my wife Clara. I'd like to make a proposal to you."

"Indeed?" Vegeta said hiding his smile. "Please do go on, I hear we don't have much time."

"I would like to make a deal with you Vegeta for information about the serial killer that has my daughter Elizabeth."

"Would you do anything to get her back?" Vegeta asked.

"I would do everything in my power." Mayor Walker said firmly.

Unseen by the Mayor and his wife was a very large grin on his face.

"Then let us talk, Mayor Walker about certain conditions I have." Vegeta said. "If you can make these reality then I will talk."

000

Author's Note: Oh dear, what will Vegeta ask for? You'll have to wait till next chapter.


	7. See you Soon

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z nor Silence of the Lambs.

Chapter 7

In West City Mental Institute for the Criminally insane, a deal was being made. It was not on the books, this wasn't how he wanted to go. Mayor Walker hoped to negotiate with the mass murderer Prince Vegeta but the caged alien only chuckled behind the mask that hid his expression.

"Damn it don't you care about anything?" Mayor Walker screamed.

"Oh I care, but only about myself." Vegeta said. "I know Jones's real goal and your daughter is just a tiny part of that. An insignificant spec to such a being with higher goals. I know because I am such a being myself."

"Listen you..." The Mayor hissed.

"Temper, temper Mayor Walker." Vegeta scolded. "Let me ask you something, is your daughter a virgin?"

"What?"

"Has she fucked anyone Mayor Walker, you're her father you should know."

"How dare you!"

"Has her little prom date with Billy, the boy across the street got her into sticky fumbling making her moan out as she experiences such pain and ecstasy for her first time."

"I don't have to listen to this." The Mayor said shielding his wife and walking away.

"Hold on Mayor, isn't it Jones you want?"

"Yes, and I can see you're not going to talk."

"Oh I can talk but I can offer much more than that."

"What could you possibly offer."

"Myself." Vegeta said simply. "Jones wants me, I know he wants to kill me."

"We're not going to release you to fight the monster." Mayor Walker snapped.

"I'm not suggesting that." Vegeta gave another hidden grin from behind his mask.

"Then what are you suggesting?"

"Use me as bait," Vegeta said. "He can't reach me here, I'm too buried. Set me up in a place of your choice with hidden security and let him come to me. Your daughter will be back and safe before you know it."

"That's sounds dangerous." Mayor Walker gulped. "What if he were to kill you and escape."

"I doubt he can," Vegeta sneered. "Let him try. That is my offer, take it or leave it."

"I'll talk to my people," The Mayor said bowing. "I'd like to say it was a pleasure speaking to you Vegeta but it hasn't. I will telephone you tonight about any arrangements I can make. If possible I want to start soon. My daughter doesn't have much time."

"No, no she doesn't," Vegeta agreed.

The Mayor stared at the monster in the cage and lead his wife out of the dungeon. She was white and silent, dumbstruck by the presence of the Prince.

"C'mon Clara, I'm sorry I brought you along,"

The woman shook her head and grabbed her husband's arm. "No, I'm sorry I couldn't help or say anything," Carla whispered. "Just promise me you'll do what you can to get my baby back."

"I promise," Mayor walker whispered back. "Just lets discuss this outside, we don't want him to know how desperate we are."

The security doors slammed shut and Vegeta who had heard every word simply leaned back and sighed contentedly.

'Soon...'

000

Bulma knew this would be her last visit here. After this, it was no longer in her jurisdiction. She had been taken off the Jones case and reduced to footwork meant for police officers. It was nothing but humiliating. She couldn't hide the fact that she was suffering mixed emotions from this. One part of her was thrilled at finally being free of talking to the murderer, another would miss him he had become part of her routine. Their conversations were always more interesting than anything else she had. He was so intelligent, she had never met an intelligent man that had been interesting to her.

The Saiyan Prince was a mystery that she wanted to crack, he had hidden secrets about his defeat. How was he captured, what was his connection with Jones? She felt that she would never find out. As she entered the large gates she could hear a scrabbling from the main office. Warden Oolong burst out of his office, furious and looking directly at her.

"Can I help you Warden?" She asked as politely as she could.

"What the hell are you doing back here?" Oolong screamed. "I'm not just some turn key for you to use when you like Miss Briefs. I'd like more information about your visits to the alien scum!"

"I thought you found out your own ways," Bulma said under her voice looking at a camera.

"What, speak up woman!"

"I said you'll have to find out from my headquarters, I am not at liberty to say." Bulma said courteously. "My Director will be able to relay any facts we've found out about the Prince."

"I can't take these visits anymore Miss Briefs," Oolong spat. "I've waited patiently so far but now I'm going to make some changes!"

"Whatever you think is best." Bulma said bowing and walking towards the dungeon. She didn't understand why Oolong was always upset, she was after all only following orders.

"Wait, I should warn you!" Warden Oolong said waving something from his pocket. "He's been under special punishment but I've just released him."

"Special punishment?" Bulma asked.

Oolong was smiling as he held his prize photo. "Yesterday we were applying some medicine to our Prince. I thought I should warn you now he's loose from his mask."

"Please, just tell me." Bulma sighed. She didn't like this sense of drama Oolong was trying to build up.

He thrust a photograph into Bulma's hand. "This is the nurse from yesterday, she's having her skin grafted as we speak, she's scared for life. She has a remarkable resemblance to you don't you think? I believe he was acting out his own fantasy of what he wants to do to you."

Bulma's hand shook as she looked at the photograph, the nurse with the blue hair did have a similar features to her. It was slightly hard to see past the blood and the fact she was missing part of her face.

"Makes you think, just when we thought beauty had tamed the beast he did this," Oolong grinned glad to see Bulma's paled face. "Just remember who you're dealing with."

"Is that about you or Prince Vegeta?" Bulma shakily asked.

"Both," Oolong warned and snatched the photograph back into his pocket and walked away. He seemed to keep it like a trophy.

Bulma could feel bile rising in her throat. She was really glad this was her last visit now. She went into auto pilot and walked down the now familiar corridors to the cell of the Prince. She greeted Mr Popo with a quiet voice.

"He's just out of his straitjacket Miss Briefs, he's exercising at the moment." Mr. Popo explained. "He'll be a little irritated at being disturbed."

"I don't have time to wait till he finishes," Bulma said as she stood in front of the large cage doors.

Mr Popo nodded and pressed the button to open the first security door.

The door slid shut and the second door opened. Her heels clicked as she walked down to the last cell. She could hear some heavy breathing, it didn't stop as she got closer. She stood in front of the Prince's cell and stared at the sight. Vegeta was doing push ups but with one finger. He was sweating and making low growling noises as strained to move his body.

"Excuse me Prince Vegeta," Bulma said softly.

"You're excused Cadet." Vegeta gruffly replied and stopped with a loud sigh. He cursed under his breath and grabbed a towel. "You've interrupted me at an inconvenient time. I am finally free of those bonds and able to test the limits of my abilities after that serum the swine applied."

"A serum?" Bulma asked, she sat down on the floor, she had come unexpectedly and there was no chair like last time.

"Yes, one that supposedly limits my ki abilities permanently." Vegeta sneered, "I thought you would have been told about that."

"I'm not Warden Oolong's favourite person at the moment."

"I think I have that title Cadet." Vegeta sat down on the floor opposite Bulma.

She looked around the cell unsure what to make of the news. If that was the case then the nurse must have been administering the serum.

"Are you ready to tell us more about Jones yet?" Bulma asked. "Have you looked at the case file?"

"Yes, I believe it's possible to find him from the facts in that file."

"What?"

"He's not smart, the idiot sent a threat to the police to kill me," Vegeta chuckled. "As if he would rather let the humans do it than himself. That was lazy, he's slipping up."

"You think he's making mistakes?" Bulma asked.

"You did know about the letter and slice of skin sent to the Police?"

"Yeah, I heard about it today but how did you know?"

"I've been having an interesting chat with the Mayor," Vegeta smirked. "He's probably able to do more for me than you are."

"That's very possible, you know this will be my last visit here then."

"Yes little cadet." Vegeta smiled. "Do you feel sad? Will you miss me?"

"No," Bulma said in a dead pan voice.

"I'm also a little curious, did you find my drawing?"

Bulma's face turned bright red and she tried to find the words she wanted to say that didn't include swearing.

"I found it disgusting that you see me that way," Bulma choked.

"Every male that looks at a beautiful woman pictures her naked." Vegeta said still smiling.

"Did you imagine that nurse naked as you bit her face off?" Bulma asked shaking with rage.

"That vile wench was only chosen as my nurse because of her similar looks to you. Her smell was so revolting in comparison, she was needed to be taught not to get so close to the monsters of this world."

"I don't think she ever will again."

"No." Vegeta said simply. "No she won't."

"Would you like to tell me more about Jones Prince Vegeta?" Bulma asked. "We don't have much time."

"No, tell me more about you Bulma." Vegeta said. "What did you feel as you found my drawing of you naked."

"I was frightened, then very angry," Bulma said truthfully. "I wanted to slap your face."

"Is that right?" Vegeta chuckled. "You know if you tried that you would die?"

"Yes, but I always follow my instincts."

"As do I." Vegeta said. "We have a lot in common you and I Cadet Bulma."

"No we don't," Bulma disagreed.

"Oh but we do," Vegeta said. "More than you think."

"I wouldn't think we had anything in common," Bulma said.

"Normally I would think the same as well," Vegeta replied. "But my years in this box has made me more reflective."

"Perhaps you could put that strong perceptive skills to use and tell me more about Jones."

"He is more of an it, the thing doesn't have a gender. It's asexual, not a single person that was taken was a specific gender or race." Vegeta explained. "It has no concept of the differences, the cattle for him are just stock, ingredients in his final transformation."

"Final transformation?"

"Yes, it is weak just now the same as me but as it progresses it shall become almost as powerful as a Saiyan." Vegeta said, "Maybe not as powerful as me in my prime but rather one of my underlings."

"It will be able to shoot large energy blasts that destroy towns?" Bulma asked.

"Without a doubt but it's target will be West City, especially me." Vegeta answered. "It is on a mission to kill me, I've been captured by a weak race; to die this slowly and humiliatingly is punishment. If I was at full power and free I could crush Jones like the bug that he is."

"If you knew it's goal was all along why didn't you say?" Bulma demanded.

"Where's the fun in that?" Vegeta shrugged. "Now tell me more, what about your father. Was he an officer in the law are you following in Daddy's footsteps?"

"No, my father was a Scientist, a genius inventor." Bulma said. "He was the cleverest man in the world. His inventions had helped so many people."

"Why didn't you follow his work?" Vegeta asked. "Or was it because you were too stupid?"

"I'm a goddamn genius as well!" Bulma snapped. "I just... I just don't want to do science or inventing. I-I'd rather hu-hunt criminals of Earth."

"There was a lot of hesitation there." Vegeta analysed. "There's a reason you're not in science, what is it? Did you make a bomb that blew everything up?"

"No nothing like that," Bulma sighed. "I've said enough, tell me about Jones. What kind of alien is he?"

"A spider," Vegeta smiled as he saw Bulma's face. "A really big fucking spider."

"But the victims didn't have any webbing or drained like a spider would."

"The first victim was drained remember." Vegeta said arching his eyebrow.

"Why was that?"

"Who's to say, but it's certainly where it started." Vegeta said. "The little hatchling was so young and inexperienced."

"Why is it needing body parts?"

"I told you for it's evolution into a stronger being."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Bulma moaned.

"It's an alien, why would it follow your logic rules. You've got to think differently, stop viewing this case through the eyes of a human," Vegeta said. "What happened to you after your parents died. Where did you go?"

"I went to live at my Uncle's." Bulma said. "But after two weeks I ran away."

"Why?" Vegeta questioned. "Did he try to rape you? Was he forcing you to perform sexual acts?"

"No nothing like that." Bulma said sadly. "My uncle was a good man. I just had many issues over the death of my parents. I ended up living alone."

"I see so you became a loner." Vegeta smirked. "Interesting."

"I was 15. I was old enough to look after myself." Bulma said.

"I was able to look after myself at 5." Vegeta replied. "We do have a lot in common."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Bulma asked, she was getting annoyed.

"Because it's true." Vegeta stated. "You have the same character as me though you hide it well. That's why you understand me."

"I don't understand you at all Vegeta."

"You knew I had drawn a naked picture of you, even back then," Vegeta taunted. "You expected the worst but in denial you tried to prove it wasn't."

"You're not making sense,"

"Think about it Bulma, why did you look at that picture?"

"To see what you had drawn." Bulma said.

"What did you expect."

"A dead body," Bulma lied.

"No, at first what did your instincts tell you?" Vegeta asked looking at her intensely. "I can tell when you're lying so don't do it again."

"I thought... I thought you had drawn a naked picture of me." Bulma admitted.

"So why did you look?"

"To prove that I didn't know what you were thinking," Bulma said through her teeth.

Vegeta chuckled, "You see we are so similar!"

"I don't kill people!" Bulma snapped, "I don't rip a woman's face off because she annoys me. I am nothing like you!"

"So cold." Vegeta sighed. "But you're right you're a good little girl that never does anything wrong."

Bulma nodded, "Right, nothing like you."

"Cadet Bulma Briefs, let me say this to you." Vegeta stood up and came close to the plastic. "You follow orders, you never question them but one day soon you will make a decision and everyone will be against it. It will change everything and the ball that you started rolling down the hill won't stop."

"Becoming a fortune teller?" Bulma laughed.

"Maybe, but only because fate always turns in the same way." Vegeta explained.

"That doesn't make sense." Bulma complained.

"Have you shown my drawing to your boss yet?" Vegeta asked.

Bulma blushed and shook her head. "I-I don't want to."

"Not following an order?" Vegeta sneered. "Afraid he might have erotic thoughts about you."

"It's not that I just, I just know it's not important to this case."

"You're own decision is it?"

"Maybe..." Bulma breathed.

"Run along now little girl." Vegeta said smugly. "Our time is up and you have a killer to catch."

"I won't be back here," Bulma said dryly.

"It's okay, I don't need you as a liaison anymore. I've been talking to the Mayor I think I can negotiate with him." Vegeta said. "You will not be missed."

"I won't miss you either." Bulma declared.

"Ah that blunt honesty..." Vegeta sighed. "Maybe I'll miss that. Goodbye Cadet Bulma Briefs, you know we have unfinished business you and I."

"I don't think we do Prince Vegeta," Bulma said sitting up. She looked him in the eyes, he was still trying to find a reaction to his closeness but she wasn't spooked by his actions anymore. "Goodbye, I hope you get what you want."

"I always do," Vegeta smirked watching her leave. "See you soon little Cadet."

The large security doors slid open with a loud rattle and Bulma left the cell room. She sighed with relief. It was over for her. The case for her was finished. It was only petty footwork that was left. Bulma glanced back and swore she could see his nose up against the glass.

It wasn't really over, he was inside her head now. There was no-one that had affected her in this way before. It wasn't love Bulma knew that. It was nothing sexual, Vegeta just had that magnetic personality that pulled her in. Someone that could challenge her and make her think on her feet. No man had ever come close to that. No other woman for that matter. If he was a real human living in Earth she may have admitted to having a crush.

'It's just not like that though,' Bulma thought as she walked upstairs. 'He's just so mysterious yet I know how he thinks. He understands me, nobody has ever understood me before. I was always considered a loud mouth genius heiress, I'm more than that. He can see who I am and that scares me. To think that if pushed far enough I could become someone like Prince Vegeta. We are alike, just life took us down different paths.'

She woke up from her self reflection by the slamming of Warden Oolong's door. She shook her head and continued out the doors. She was glad to see the last of this hell-hole. Bulma only regretted not getting more information from Vegeta. He knew who the killer was. It was his only card and he held it very close to his chest.

The outside of the Asylum was the same as she came in. Strong men in white uniforms guided straightjacketed criminals who mumbled to themselves and didn't seem to be in the same world. Only this time there was something different. A large van parked near hers didn't fit in. It looked like it would fit better outside a music hall with roadies pulling instruments out of it.

Her heart froze as she saw two men come out of the van and smile at her. She grew slightly suspicious and checked she had her gun in her jacket.

"Miss Bulma Briefs?" called out one of the men.

"Yes, can I help you gentlemen?"

"I do hope so," The man grinned like a piranha.

"Uh-huh?" Bulma unclasped her gun holder. "And who might you be?"

"Oh sorry, I'm Yajarobi of The West City Gossiper."

Bulma tried to hide her repulsion, the newspaper was nothing but a rumour spreading cheap rag.

"What do you want from me?" Bulma asked.

"We just want an exclusive on why the ex-heiress of Capsule Corporation is doing visiting the Prince of Saiyans who destroyed her future fortune." He said rolling it off in one breath. "We got a tip-off and would like to know all the details, is it for revenge, have you fallen in love with him? C'mon Bulma give us the scoop."

"There's nothing to tell," Bulma said trying to hide her anger. "I'm an FBI agent working under orders, I'm afraid I can't tell you anything else."

Bulma unlocked her car, Yajarobi continued talking while the other man who hadn't given his name took photos.

"Is this related to Scalpel Jones?" he interrogated, "Does Prince Vegeta have any clues on the case?"

"No comment." Bulma slammed her door shut and quickly fastened her seatbelt.

"Does the Mayor want to deal with the Prince?"

Bulma started her car, the man stood in front of her still speaking.

"Do you know how long Elizabeth Walker has to live?"

Bulma shifted into reverse and drove backwards over the grass barrier. She speed round turning towards the exit and drove off rapidly. She breathed when she left the building and was finally free of the grounds. The obnoxious reporter was far from her view but still in her mind. It was obvious to her that Oolong had called in the press. He was furious with her and the Prince. This was the petty act she expected from him.

Bulma hoped she would never have to deal with the pig ever again. All that was expected of her now was to wrap up the footwork and go back to the Academy to graduate. Elizabeth Walker's life was out of her hands. It rested in the killer Prince Vegeta and whatever he was bargaining for. Bulma felt powerless again, she felt fifteen lost and abandoned living on her uncle's small laboratory. There was nothing she could do for Elizabeth, she was the helpless teenager.

She tried to hide her thoughts and concentrated on driving to her hotel. Bulma bit her lip and kept trying to ignore it. A trickle of blood rolled down her mouth and in the back of her mind she could hear screaming.

000

Author's Note: Wow, Bulma's full of issues and self reflection this chapter and it looks like the end of Bulma's little visits to Vegeta. (cries) Well probably not, as Vegeta did say, _'See you soon little Cadet.'_

When that will be, you'll just have to wait.

Next chapter, Bulma is doing some sleuthing and Vegeta is getting more abuse from Oolong! Ah that darn piggy.


	8. A Sliver of Hope

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z nor Silence of the Lambs.

Chapter 8

A Sliver of Hope

The FBI headquarters was in chaos as news spread about Prince Vegeta. Bulma arrived back to the halls and looked at the scene in bemusement. Usually it was so controlled and everyone looked calm, but people were in a rush, panic on their faces.

"Bulma!"

"Launch!" Bulma cried greeting her friend.

"Thank goodness you're back!" Launch gasped.

"I wouldn't go that far," Bulma said. "I still have things to do."

"You're still on the Jones' case?" Launch asked.

Bulma shook her head. "Taken off that for obvious reasons."

"We think the Mayor has gone crazy," Launch explained, "But no-one has the authority to oppose him. He's got everyone in a mess."

"He's agreed to Vegeta's deal then."

"FBI is being brought in as back-up security." Launch said. "I guess as cadets we're not going to get involved but whatever little errands need done the cadets are being left with it."

"How's everyone coping?" Bulma asked.

"Well, Yellow-belly is missing. He apparently proclaimed to the boys that he would do something but when all the girls turned up he ran and hid again."

"Has he locked himself in his room?"

"Maybe who knows, we're all too busy to go get him." Launch sighed. "Other than that, the rest of the cadets are fine."

"I am still on the Jones case, but I won't see Vegeta again."

"I'm glad for a moment there I thought you might be falling for him," Launch said.

"Why would I fall for that monster?"

"I dunno just a thought that was all," Launch laughed. "Hey don't take it so serious, geez everyone is uptight just now."

"They don't think Elizabeth has long, maybe two or three days," Bulma said grimly. "Whatever Jones does to them in the few weeks that they're captive we still haven't found out."

"I can't figure it out either, no clues," Launch said. "I have no idea how this alien murderer thinks."

"Yeah, because he's an alien," Bulma bit her lip, something was wrong. "Y'know that's right Jones IS an alien. We shouldn't treat this like a simple murder case. We should be thinking outside the box. To look at this from the alien perspective."

"Bulma?"

"I've just got a vague idea that some clue might be hidden that's all." Bulma said. "Something Vegeta said to me, to think like an alien."

"You sure there's no feelings for that Saiyan?" Launch asked worriedly.

"Positive, I know he would rip my flesh off if he had a chance." Bulma said thinking of the nurse, she refrained from telling her friend she was already too stressed. "Listen I'm going to go down to the labs and check out something, you wanting to come?"

"Is this for the Jones case?" Launch said.

"It is actually. I just feel like I think we may have missed something."

"You're going into Scientist mode!" Launch cried. "I haven't seen you like this "

"It's been a while," Bulma agreed. "I haven't felt this curious about something since before my parents died."

"So this is the true genius scientist showing." Launch smiled. "I wondered when the Briefs genes would start to kick in."

"I'm not like my father." Bulma said darkly.

"Okay, talk about issues," Launch sighed.

"I do not have issues," Bulma hissed. She walked on to the labs, she hadn't done anything scientific for a long time but her mind was buzzing with an idea. Something she needed to find out. It was in a way because of something Vegeta had said and her mind tried to block out the rest of her thoughts about him. Whatever deal he had struck with the Mayor, it didn't matter. What mattered to her was to get some information on Jones and save Elizabeth. Vegeta was not the important factor in the case, he had knowledge about the alien but he had said that the facts were already there. There was something the other scientists had missed that was obvious to the Prince.

00

The Prince of all Saiyans looked down at Warden Oolong. He was annoyed but there was nothing to be done now. The pig had managed somehow to worm himself into the Mayor's good graces.

"Don't think you're going to be held in a luxury hotel in your little bait trap you're setting." Oolong sneered. "I have your cage set up so you won't feel homesick."

"How nice..." Vegeta said quietly but he decided to remain silent. Being quiet while the pig taunted him was probably more annoying for Oolong. He could smell the frustration, the venom. It was the sweetest smell that Warden could ever hope to have.

"Your pretty girl Bulma Briefs won't be coming to see you anymore."

Vegeta kept his gaze still not batting an eyelid.

"I bet you have so many vision of tasting her sweet flesh but that's all over. I've recommended that no woman shall ever step 10 meters near you. All your nurses and attendants are going to be male. You'll have to start fantasising about men instead."

There was still no reaction.

Oolong irritated by the silence tapped his pen on the clipboard. This got Vegeta's attention and Oolong smiled while clicking the biro.

"It's going to be a long flight, I hope you have packed everything... oh wait all you have to bring is yourself."

Vegeta lunged at Oolong, he was still strapped into the trolley but he swung at the pig knocking the clipboard and pen out of his hand. Oolong squealed and Mr Popo and some other strong looking attendants ran to his aid. Vegeta lay on the floor satisfied and a smirk on his face. The guards pinned him down and made sure he couldn't move again. Even with a mask and straightjacket Vegeta was considered dangerous. Oolong picked up his clipboard and kicked Vegeta in the stomach.

"Damn monkey!"

There was no sound from Vegeta, he didn't even grunt as the hard kick hit his stomach.

"Get the simian prepped for departure, we leave immediately." Warden Oolong said straightening his suit. "I don't want any muck ups."

"Sir, will I be going?" Mr Popo asked.

"No, we need you here Popo."

"But I could advise the new guards and attendants for Prince Vegeta."

"I know the routines, Mr Popo you won't be needed."

The guard nodded the words stung. Mr Popo had looked after Prince Vegeta since he came and everytime he was on duty not one incident had occurred. He felt uneasy as Oolong walked away. The sideways smile on the Alien Prince was enough to shake anybody. He pulled Vegeta up and dusted off the dirt from his outfit.

"I understand sir." Mr Popo said sadly. "Looks like you're on your own now your Highness."

Vegeta stayed quiet, not answering the man and only bowed his head slightly. The guard only stood watching his calm stoic expression, the Prince was an expert at hiding his feelings. The snake like smile he had seen for a brief instant had shaken him. He felt like this was a horrible mistake and the people that were going to suffer was everyone on this planet.

'There has to be something I can do...' Mr. Popo thought desperately as he wheeled the dangerous Saiyan to the transport that waited outside.

000

Deep in the laboratories of the FBI building Bulma Briefs finished with one of her many blood samples. All the blood of the previous victims had not been fully analysed in the autopsy, it was a discrepancy that Bulma couldn't overlook. The blood samples were old but Bulma knew if there was any trace of alien substances she could find them.

'After all I'm a genius,' she reminded herself. Her self praise had quietened down over the years and now had become a quiet inner voice. Her confidence was something she had thought to be unshakable.

She stretched as she put the last one for a certain poison into the machine for testing and stood up to get some coffee. She was living off caffeine and sugar, she was still fighting her inner urge for nicotine. They went so well with sugar and caffeine.

Just as she poured a cup her friend Launch burst in, she looked anxious. "Bulma!"

"What, I'm not finished, I told you leave me till it's time for dinner at least."

"No, this is important it's all over the papers!" The girl pushed what Bulma instantly recognised as the West City Gossiper, the rag newspaper that spread lots of lies about Prince Vegeta. She stared in disbelief at the front page.

A photograph of herself in highschool smiling innocently was next to one of the better pictures of Vegeta. (One where he looked like a human and not a murdering alien monster). The headline read: "_The Princess of Saiyans_"

"You've got to be fucking joking!" Bulma swore. She read further:

_It has come to light that Ex-Capsule Corporation heiress Miss Bulma Briefs has become infatuated with her parents killer. Now acting as a temporary agent for the FBI, Bulma has sought out to interview the nightmarish monster Prince. We at the Gossiper believe her motives were originally revenge for the destruction of her parents estate which lead to the bankruptcy and her loss of fortune. The current owner of the rights to Capsule Corporation did not comment about this lewd action by Miss Briefs. The twenty year old is almost completed her training at the FBI and according to our sources she requested that her final training mission would be with Prince Vegeta. The Saiyan alien that came to earth and devoured nine people and destroyed hundreds and thousands of property. The Gossiper feels that Miss Briefs has lost her mind and would be unfit to graduate as an agent. She has fallen in love with the monster. It is well know that he holds a certain allure to the ladies while some find him the ugliest thing on the planet. Could Bulma be looking for some comfort in the cold alien's strong arms? Has she become mentally unstable due to the loss of her family at such a tender age? The Gossiper aims to find out. More on Page 4._

Bulma breathed through her teeth making a loud hissing noise. The reporter that had followed her yesterday had went ahead with his story even though he had nothing.

"It's not true is it Bulma?"

"Which part?" Bulma demanded. "It's all bullshit other than the part about my name and I'm the ex-Capsule Corporation heiress! Honestly, where's their proof that I asked to go to Vegeta? I was given this damn assignment by Piccolo!"

"Shouldn't you tell them that?"

Bulma laughed, "Sorry, no. This rag doesn't work this way. It was like this when my parents died and they tried to make me out as a poor innocent girl, I yelled in a reporter's face once and they changed the story to I was a bitch that deserved everything I got."

"Really?" Launch said quietly. "Sorry I didn't know I don't read this newspaper. It was yellow belly who gave this to me. He actually came out of his room screaming and well, he dropped it actually when he saw me."

"Nice reworking of the word 'give' you should be a reporter." Bulma scoffed. "Look, I know the truth and Director Piccolo knows the truth that's enough for me."

"Don't you feel angry at them?" Launch asked. "I want to rip the little bastard that wrote this and shove it down his throat."

Bulma smiled at the angry side of Launch, it usually appeared when she got worked up. "Yes, the thoughts do enter my mind but I'm not going to give into my anger. If I did I would be nothing more than a monster like Vegeta."

Bulma tried to force away the inner Vegeta voice that had appeared recently. _'We are so alike cadet, you should give into your anger.'_ She downed her coffee hoping to drown the voice inside.

"Are you really okay?" Launch said. "You look like you've got one hell of an indigestion problem."

"It's nothing, maybe I am a little mad but there's nothing we can do." Bulma said. "I'll continue with my work, come back later when it's near dinner time. I could do with eating something that's not sugar."

"Sure," Launch said kindly. "Good luck and hope you find what you're looking for."

Bulma waved and took one last look at the paper. It was a nice picture of her, sure with an added Princess crown but she did look good in anything. 'I just hope Vegeta doesn't see this.'

'Why do you think he'll get turned on?' The Vegeta voice asked.

Bulma cursed to herself and tried to focus on the work at hand. There were still many substances she needed to try and find. 'Maybe an overall element scan of the blood will tell me if there's anything unusual?' She nodded her head and prepared her next experiment. In a way trying to ignore the inner voice that was growing stronger and louder.

000

Director Piccolo was facing a large headache. He was not the one in complete command of the FBI. There were people of higher authority than him and he was facing such a person just now. To many people in the FBI he was considered God, but to Piccolo he was just father.

"Yes Kami, what do you want?" Piccolo asked trying to hide his disgust. "I took Cadet Briefs off the case. We're now busy because you authorised the back up of the Mayor's police."

"You didn't take her off soon enough!" Kami snapped. He threw the paper down on Piccolo's desk.

"So, it looks like there's a leak somewhere. I'll put bets on the insane Asylum."

"Possibly, but this kind of publicity could be avoided if you had sent someone else." Kami hissed. "Bulma Briefs is a too high profile to send to Prince Vegeta. The damn press love everything about him, they're eating this story up about him getting visits from the ex-capsule corporation Heiress. What possessed you to send this girl anyway, you knew who her father was!"

"Maybe I wanted her to prove she's more than her father's offspring." Piccolo snapped back. "Some people don't like always living under their father's shadow. Besides Bulma was the best cadet in her class, she was the most qualified for speaking to the Prince."

"Really and what information did she glean exactly?"

Piccolo pulled out a file containing Bulma's reports. "It's all here, nothing specific about Scalpel Jones other than he knew of him. She should be finishing her final report soon."

"That's good, then this little escapade hasn't been a complete waste of Elizabeth's time." Kami said coldly. "Vegeta is going to tell the Mayor what he knows and we have full authority to act on that information."

"Vegeta has been known to lie, what makes you think the Mayor can convince him to tell the truth."

"We're going to give him a legitimate offer not dangle a bait of a pretty girl." Kami said. "Don't think I didn't notice that Bulma is also the best looking out of her group. That had to count for why you choose her."

"In a way, yes I admit it." Piccolo sighed. "She's a pretty face but she's got brains and honesty. Prince Vegeta reacted to her like no-one else if this makes her a monster's bride then that's what we've created."

"Just understand a woman doesn't like to be used that way," Kami tried to explain. "Sure, she'll use herself that way but being tricked into being a pretty lure really aggravates a woman's need for vengeance."

"You're speaking from experience then."

Kami didn't reply and walked back to the door. "You're on standby till Vegeta gives us a name. I have a team of men backing up the police with Vegeta's new short term prison."

"I'd like to ledge my complaint on how I think this is a damn stupid idea."

"Noted and ignored, Director Piccolo. I'm in charge and I want Vegeta to tell us everything he knows. Keep the peace at headquarters when I passed there all the cadets seemed to be running about like headless chickens."

"Sir, all our field agents are on Vegeta duty."

"It won't be necessary. I've picked my own team to assist the mayor. You do as you're order and standby for your next mission. We're going to save Elizabeth Walker, she will survive this ordeal."

"I see Sir, we'll stand down and await orders then." Piccolo saluted and turned his back. "Whatever father wants father gets."

"That's it exactly boy," Kami said closing the door.

Piccolo restrained himself from making a childish face. He merely grimaced and wished the old man would either drop down dead or retire. He personally hoped for the drop down dead option. He picked up the phone and made a quick phone call to his second in command. Vegeta would be a second priority now. Scalpel Jones was a bigger threat.

000

Somewhere in very dark place, Elizabeth awoke to the sound that she had become to find comforting. The rumbling snore of the monster sounded like a jack hammer drilling but it was the sound of blissful peace. She knew this was the time she could try something to escape. That thing did not want her to escape alive. She tied the rope that held her slop bucket tightly around her hand. The small hole she knew was somewhere above her. Elizabeth knew now which way was up, gravity was a good way to help her. As she tossed the bucket upwards it hurtled back down twice as fast and always seemed to land on her hurting her. It wasn't much but the pain made her feel alive, instead of the numb void she was becoming used to.

Everyday as she ate more of that filth he fed her she felt more sluggish, more tired. It drained her of energy. Soon she knew she wouldn't have the will or ability to pull herself out.

'Betty Walker is not a giver-up!' She reminded herself. It was her little motto that helped her keep going. It was dumb and 'giver-up' wasn't a word but it made sense. She didn't want to quit on life, she wanted to live. She wanted to kick this son of a bitch's ass so badly it hurt. She swung up again and Betty felt a reassuring thud as it latched onto something.

She felt like laughing, her dumb plan worked! 'No, it's not dumb Betty, it's a wonderful plan. Now stop feeling smug and pull yourself up.' Her inner monologue reminded her and she obeyed. The girl yanked hard and dragged her body up. She had done rock climbing once when she was in the girl scouts. This was similar only there was no cute guy giving encouragement.

Elizabeth clawed her way up and felt in the dirty blackness. The top of the tunnel was sticky, she couldn't move very far. She lay on the ground breathing softly, she had made it! She was on top of the tunnel that the asshole had thrown her down.

'I'm gonna kick his ass!' She reminded herself. She sat up on her knees and crawled forward.

It was then she noticed, while she had been busy climbing the sounds had stopped. It was silent, the monster was now awake.

"Crap..." Elizabeth whispered to herself.

"Interesting choice of words little meat," Hissed the dreaded voice. "You're too early to come out yet, you haven't eaten enough. Ah well, if you really want you can stay up here with me."

Elizabeth pulled on the bucket line to use the bucket as a weapon. She wasn't going to let him take her. She was not a piece of meat! Elizabeth pulled hard again on the line it was stuck! She didn't have time to find out on what as she felt something wrap around her throat and lift her up. Soon she felt a cold sticky substance cover her and she was hanging in the air, suspended by what felt like rope.

"Let me down!" She screamed.

"No, it wanted to stay up here and here it'll stay."

Elizabeth felt her spirit break and the tears fell. The thing imitated her sobbing, mocking her.

'I want to die...' Elizabeth thought and her usual peppy inner voice grew silent and didn't give any encouragement. There was no hope left as far as this girl was concerned. In her last efforts for freedom it had killed the one thing she had left. Her hope that she was going to survive this.

000

Author's Notes: Um... sorry lots of inner voices in this chapter. This is what happens when you end up alone a lot. (You start speaking to yourself). Poor Elizabeth for a victim character I'm starting to feel a little sorry for her. (Just a little)

So next chapter will Bulma find what she's looking for? Will Vegeta tell all to the Mayor?


	9. The Waiting game

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or Silence of the Lambs.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay the original chapter for this was erased last year by my hard drive becoming corrupted and I had to wipe everything. (T_T) I had to start from scratch again when it was half way done. So many years have passed since I started this story but it needs to be finished. The plot bunny, it wont leave me alone.

Chapter 9

Ever since five years ago after the Saiyan attack and sudden defeat the Earth has gone on alert. It was clear that Earth was not alone and that the other aliens are very powerful and could have destroyed the planet at that time. An organisation was established to deal with any alien invaders and the best minds worked together to fight against any threats to the world peace. The main prize was Prince Vegeta of the Saiyan race, whom was held in constant captivity for study and experiments; with him as a test subject many fields were open and the organisation formed into the FBI. It was the centre of recruitment of talented people and made a lot of space explorations with the stolen technology. Most of all was the research and training building positioned 10 miles from West City.

The FBI building was huge and down in the basement many floors went further and further beneath the ground. Bulma felt like she was journeying to the centre of the Earth. She had been in the elevator for a while now going down. It finally came to a halt, last floor. This was where the real research of the FBI took place. This was the top secret area, it had taken her so long to get the clearance but as it didnt involve a certain Saiyan Prince she was given it quickly. I bet theyll think Im safe from all that media shit down here. Bulma thought. It looked as if not even cleaners had been here as she swept some cobwebs away from her head. What she had found in the samples she made didnt make any sense and she had come here to get a clear idea. If there was anyone in the labs that would know what it was it would be the specialist scientists that lived here.

She came up to the door that she wanted and knocked. She waited a few minutes before knocking again, this time harder. There was still no response and Bulma yelled out, "Hello? Anyone here, Ive got some samples for you!"

The door creaked open and a small white cat peered up at her. She noted quickly that it was humanoid and she offered the blood samples. The cat snatched them from her hand and shut the door.

"HEY!" Bulma snarled barging into the door. "That was very rude, you don't even know what I want analysed!"

The cat looked at her with his slanted eyes. It was obvious why he was down here, no people skills. "You want it checked for alien substances, yes?"

"Um....yeah." Bulma blushed. "I found something but I dont have enough information to reference, I need you guys to tell me what I've found."

"I had a call explaining, you can go now."

"Did that call explain that this is a possible alien insect were dealing with?"

"No."

A very short answer, Bulma wished that she had more patience. "Then now you do, this is very important. Whatever this is in the bloodstream is there might be a connection with the Jones case."

"Jones is an alien insect?" The cat asked amazed.

Bulma was amazed she got him looking interested and asking questions. She was invited in by the humanoid she found out was called Karin. He was an expert on alien plants, insects and anything smaller than himself which to Bulma seemed to include a lot. She noticed there were other even shyer co-workers who made themselves look busy. She calmly noted that they were all male; this was probably the first female they had seen that had two legs for quite a while. Bulma knew that the basement area was like an underground network and even had its own sleeping quarters and canteen.

"It's to be kept top secret if you don't mind." Bulma said; she was still the main speaker.

"Absolutely and you say these blood came from the victims?"

"There's also the small white things I found inside the blood which is worrying me. I don't know how it was dismissed as a contamination in the sample. I looked closer and it seemed to be something more."

"I quite agree, they are something more, they are in fact eggs."

"I dont know what species as they appear to be microscopic but I shall do some research, everyone here will help." Karin said. He spoke not directly at Bulma but while he was looking at the sample through his microscope. "These samples are quite well made; I can see the poison now as well. Who did make up these slides are they any of my team?"

"That was me." Bulma said. "I may be FBI but I have some scientific training."

"What was your name again?"

"I never said. Its Bulma Briefs."

"Briefs eh? Any relation to Dr Trunks Briefs?"

"He was my father."

The whole room now were staring and looking at Bulma now.

"I see, that does explain a few things." Karin chuckled. "This makes me want to work twice as hard. Your father was a great man and I wish youd followed in his field. Unfortunately Capsule Corporation is not what it used to be."

"That is quite out of my hands." Bulma said getting up. "I'm taking up your time; I'll let you continue your work."

"Ah, but wont you stay for tea?" There was a chorus from the enthusiastic staff members behind Karin, from being terribly shy they had gone 180 and decided to be over enthusiastic. Bulma blushed at such treatment, it did remind her of her past days when she had been the Princess of Capsule Corps. She shook herself free of her nostalgia and made her excuses.

"I need to report back as soon as possible."

"Then give us your number so we can call you if we find something."

Bulma gave a coy smile, "Just go through Director Piccolo please. My number is private." She winked and she was sure she saw a few guys at the back fall down. You've still got it Bulma. Although that was now the victims blood sample sorted there was also something to do with the first victim; the one that had been found on Capsule Corps property. Bulma knew that a few more demons of her past were going to be dug up. Just as she was finally feeling like she was burying her latest one, The Saiyan prince Vegeta. As she looked at the clock he would be miles away from her now well out of reach in an undisclosed place in West City. A full armed guard; tranquilized and surrounded by ki suppressors. She hoped it would be enough and that the demon Prince would stay buried.

000

The plane from South city touched down and hundreds of men ran out in line. An army of guards waited in rows as the plane made its taxi to the small terminal building that had been evacuated of all normal passengers. This was all for one very special passenger. The Mayor of the city came out with his wife watching from a safe distance. It was unfortunately a very sunny and bright day, there should have been sounds of laughter but there was a tense feeling in the air. The monster that had changed everyone's world was being escorted out of the plane now on an upright trolley. The bars of the trolley glowed to show the ki suppressants were active.

Vegeta watched from his mask as Oolong walked beside him. He seemed to strut a little; he had the upper hand on Vegeta. He could still feel the sting in his neck. He thought back to when the Bulma copy nurse had injected him with that serum. It was made to genetically suppress his strength. At first he thought it was just a lie but he could feel it. The poison sat in his body like a lead weight. He could feel the lack of power that was his pride. He had been stripped. It did not however change his plan. He wanted that pig dead. He glared at him from his mask and ignored whatever useless chatter the Mayor said.

"Are you listening?" Oolong snarled at him.

Vegeta grunted his response.

"It doesn't matter, you're now bait and your room is waiting." Oolong huffed. "Don't worry Mayor Walker we'll lure that alien kidnapper here."

"Don't forget mass murderer." Vegeta murmured, waking up from his thoughts. "I wonder how safe little Elizabeth is now. Is she screaming out for her Daddy or is she giving up and letting herself die. Hope is a very fragile thing, it breaks so easily."

Mayor Walker was shaken by these words but he said nothing. He had learnt the hard way there was no way to really speak to this animal. "Take the alien bait to his lure."

The army escorted the alien Prince to the waiting armour van. Everything seemed so secure. In the background photographers went crazy trying to get a shot of the elusive Saiyan. For appearances sake the guards were informed to shoo them away. However Mayor Walker smiled, it all was coming to plan. 'Just wait Betty, Daddy's coming.'

000

In the FBI Canteen Bulma shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Every person around her was either looking or talking about her behind her back. The newspaper article had been mostly believed by the cadets that didn't know her and that was over half the populace.

"Thats her... the ex-heiress..."

"How could she with that monster?"

"Why is she still here, she should have been expelled."

Bulma felt the bile rise; she couldn't get angry, not here not in front of these nobodies. She had to keep her cool soon she would graduate and her record would be cleared.

"What are you all talking about?" A girl shouted angrily. Bulma looked up it was Launch but her hair had turned blonde. The violent other personality had made its appearance. "If you go around gossiping and believing this tabloid rubbish then youre all not fit to be agents!!"

"Launch, please its okay."

The blonde huffed and sat down. She glared at any of the stragglers that hadn't escaped.

"Damn newbies; think they know all the rules. Well show em once we graduate; eh?"

"Sure, Launch, whatever you say." Bulma smiled. She did like this other side of her friend; especially when it allowed her anger to become sated. She felt the rising bile settle and she continued eating her coffee and cake.

"So finished with your science stuff?" Launch asked as she sat next to her.

"I've gone as far as I could, without the reference files I couldnt continue so I handed it over to some experts that were left out last time."

"Strange that, it was an alien attack and yet the blood was never analysed."

"I read the report; it said that the only analysis done on the body was cause of death. The blood had only been tested for sedatives and other chemicals from Earth. I thought there was a gap and I took a long shot, maybe this will pay back all my hard work."

"Well its unfair you're taken off this case because of some stupid newspaper rumour."

"It doesn't matter; it was coming to an end anyway. I was just the bait to get Vegeta to talk, now he has my usefulness has run out. My next task is going to be easier though and it's still with this case."

"What?"

"It's slightly confidential but I have to investigate the ex-Capsule Corp employees."

"Hey, that's something the local police should be doing!" Launch snapped.

"Perhaps but for me, it's some much needed footwork." Bulma wiped her mouth and stood up. "I'm going on another trip, thats for sure. So I'll see you in another week."

"Take care Bulma."

The girls hugged and Bulma left, as she closed the door to the canteen she heard an eruption of talking and Launch shouting again. Bulma laughed quietly and walked the now very familiar corridors to her sleeping quarters. She wanted to keep busy, the experiments had helped but as she had said to her friend there was only so much she could do. She was more mechanical than a genetic scientist. If this alien had been a robot she would have been so happy, something that had gears and maybe even some alien for of gadgetry that she could dismember. She sighed and opened her dorm door. She noticed the mail had come. It sat on top of the table, but she hardly ever got any mail so she was surprised to see her name carefully written with neat letters on the top of a plain brown envelope.

_'To Cadet Bulma Briefs'_

She felt a shiver as she picked up the envelope; it had so many postmarks as if it had been passed around to different places. She noticed the envelope seemed scuffed as if there had been something else on top. She held her breath trying to convince herself she was being crazy. It couldnt be...he couldnt....

She opened the paper which had been cut from drawing paper, it was thick and rough it reminded her immediately of a certain cells drawings. She opened it up to confirm her fear. It was a letter from the Prince.

_My Dear Cadet,_

_How are you doing without you regular visits? It may not have been very long since we last parted but this letter was written after you left that last day. I want to make it clear what I know about Jones is actually quite a lot. He has been communicating to me while I have been in prison. He has even tried to enter but the ki suppressors were effective against him as it was against me. His main aim in his pitifully short life is my death. My capture and humiliating declawing is my death. I am not the commander of a great army as you'd imagine. I am but a pawn; a very expendable pawn to an ever greater power. I do not wish to tell you more about that person; its not important now; but you should know one thing about Jones. He is obsessed with my death; just as I am in the death of the traitor Saiyan. He came two years ago in a ship and was able to make contact with me. I will not tell you how I know. It is currently only card I hold over the pitiful mayor who misses his little girl. She should be dead by now but I wont let his hope die yet. It is useful for me and my survival. If this Jones had not picked such a high rank piece of meat I would not have as much bargaining chips as I do. It will be the first of his many mistakes. His obsession with killing me has blinded him, just as I find myself blinded by wanting the death of that traitor. Which lead to my capture by your pathetic race of humans. My obsessesion with that Saiyan was quite strong and still is._

_Although I find myself dealing with a new obsession; I find you quite alluring. True it may be that you are the only female I have been around but that is wrong. There is a similarity in our characters that I see. I see the fire of vengeance in your eyes; the fire of wanting more power to take control of your pathetic life. There is of course big differences, you have never killed anyone but with your current job I think it only a matter of time before you extinguish another life. It will be part of your job just as it was part of my job and you will come to revel in it. This killing is a form of power that I don't think youre ready for my little Cadet. I should warn you that we have unfinished business. You are the only one I will talk to and I have yet to hear your full story. You will find a way to come to me and we shall discuss our unfinished business. It is quite simple and not something to worry about. Not that I doubt you shall, this letter will make you so angry that you might even rip it in two, before you do take a look of the last page. I left a little present for you to remember me. I doubt you will forget your prince but it I find it amusing the gossip the pig has started to spread about us. I think this will add fire to the rumours but it pleases me. I think we would make a wonderful couple but then I would rip open your head after I was done with you and I know you understand that. That is why there will never be anything but the chemistry between us. I think I like the smell more than the taste. Isn't it strange how sometimes the food smells better than it tastes. I think of you like that little Cadet. You are something that will never be mine and it is sweeter like that. If I possessed you then you would rot and taste bitter, maybe you would even wilt like a flower. Although I promise not to eat you in the way I ate others. I would have you in a very different way._

_Come to me one more time and I shall tell you the full story of Jones; just as you will tell me the full part of your story. It will be a fair exchanged just as we agreed on that day so long ago._

_I promise I won't bite,_

_The Prince of All Saiyans, Vegeta._

Bulma dropped to her knees. 'How did he get this letter out, how?'

Her hand shook as she looked at the last page. The eyes were the first thing she noticed. Those eyes that were dark pools that drew her in; the drawing was a self-portrait by Vegeta. Somehow he had managed to capture the way he always had looked at her. Her eyes scanned the picture and she felt blood rush to her face. He was completely naked, including showing off his proud member sitting in the middle of his legs. His slanted smile as he knew he looked good naked, he knew he would be getting the reaction from Bulma. She let out a gasp and turned it round.

'Why does he do this to me?' She demanded from her body. She hugged herself tight and went to wash cold water over her now very hot face. She hid the charcoal picture in her luggage and picked up the note and envelope. The picture could be left out but this had to be important. She hurried out the door to her Chief. She didnt have time to worry about any consequences the time was drawing thin for the girl held captive. Bulma may not have a direct way of helping but she could do what she could to help.

Just keep busy and don't think about it. She reminded herself as she ran down the corridors unaware at how red her face really was.

000

Vegeta sat up in his new open space cell and smiled. 'Yes, she should have got the letter by now. I wonder if she will come to ask some of the unanswered questions. She's not done with me yet; just as I have still some unanswered questions to do with her.'

He knew he would have her interested and she would come to him one last time. 'Unfinished business must be done before I can move on from this place.' There was also the noose of Jones, the name given to him by the humans; as that alien arachnid made its plans to get to him. The creature would be at full power soon and Vegeta knew if he didn't get him stopped then with his current weak self he would be dead very soon. There was a way out and he had to be very careful in how he worked it. If all went well he would soon be free.

"Guards, could you play that CD you were given. The concerto by Beethoven; I feel like sitting quietly and waiting with music."

The guards looked at each other and read down the list of instructions and requests. The CD was on the list, the man nodded to the other and from a safe distance they started to play. The booming sound of the powerful piece echoed around the empty room. In the centre was a large metal cell that was lit up with ki suppressors. Vegeta sat down in his plastic chair and continued doing what he had been doing for these five long years; he waited.

000

Author's note: Not sure when my next chapter will be but I have everything plotted out. I want to make it slightly different than the plot of Silence of the Lambs but there will be similarities of course since it was the inspiration for this fanfic. Thanks for any loyal readers that have stayed with me in this long break. Hello to new people, enjoy the dark story. Remember there is no planned romance, only chemistry.

Extra fanfiction note: for some reason all my commas and quote marks were erased when I uploaded. I tried to edit this as best I could but if you see any others let me know.


	10. Instinct

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or Silence of the Lambs.

Chapter 10

**Instinct**

It was a long day for Bulma she had been up all night examining and preparing blood samples. Now she was waiting in the office of her superior with a very strange letter she had received from the Prince of Saiyans, Vegeta. She had already tried to defend herself against the gossip that said she was in a relationship with Vegeta. Now she had even more damning evidence. Why would he send a letter to her? It didn't make any sense. He did say in the letter he was attracted to her, but then he also said he would kill her without a second thought. This was a monster that had been responsible for the slaying of her family. Not directly but his invasion to the Earth had lead to her downfall in the past and her current mental issues.

"The Director will see you now." The Secretary said as she looked up from her work. Bulma hadn't heard the buzz or any call through but she had spaced out.

She made a murmur of thanks and walked into the office.

"Cadet Briefs are you unaware of your new assignment. You're to go to West City and investigate the ex-employees of Capsule Corporation."

"I know that sir, but something came up." Bulma handed over the letter; she had sealed it in a bag. "I thought I should deliver this first. It came today."

"This is... from Vegeta?"

"Yes Sir."

"You still deny any relationship with the Saiyan?"

"I do Sir; there is no romance on my side. If you read the letter you can see the Prince's feeling on the matter."

Bulma stood waiting as her Director and Chief read through the letter. His dark green face clenched as he read a few parts. Bulma guessed it was at the part that mentions Jones and only mentions. There was nothing to lead them to the killer.

"He's baiting you to come to him."

"That's what it looks like to me too Sir."

"Thank you for bringing this to me but tell me; where is the second page?"

"It's in my room. Bulma said guiltily. It was only a picture; I thought the letter was the important part that you needed to see."

"Understood, but I don't like this Bulma. Piccolo waved his hand for her to sit. You are not in High School anymore. You don't need to hide anything from us."

"I'm sorry sir."

"I'm glad its me that picked this up and not my superiors. They don't believe the rumours of course but there are still doubts about whether you are fit to be an agent or not. You would do so much better down in one of our research labs."

"I'd rather be on the field. Which is why once were finished Im going to the first address and going through all the ex-employees as you'd asked."

"I put you on this assignment to help keep your reputation. In this building gossip likes to spread and tempers have been known to flare."

I'm quite calm actually." Bulma smiled.

"That's partially why I'm worried. Go to a gym on your time off and beat the crap out of a sandbag before coming into the office. You've got a lot of aggression in you; I remember when you were a young recruit."

"Gee, thanks...I think. Bulma said, unsure if that was a compliment.

"By the way, this is a photo of the nurse that Vegeta savaged." He passed it along the table.

"Sir... Dr Oolong was very kind to already show me that."

"There's also her ID and details in there"

"Do you want me to talk to the nurse sir?" She stepped forward and looked at the photos. One was of the wound and the others of the nurse in her state before the accident.

"I just think she looks uncannily like you." Piccolo said lifting up a newspaper and turning round. "I would even make a sure bet you could pass yourself off as her and get into see Vegeta to ask those important questions one more time."

Bulma stayed silent but she understood where this was going. Her heartbeat increased at the thought of doing such a thing.

"Its a shame we won't get to know what Vegeta knows. He seems quite determined to say it only to you."

"A real shame Sir." Bulma said taking the photos and ID from the desk. "It would be completely against the rules to do such a thing now."

"Indeed." Piccolo agreed. "If anything were to happen I would deny everything."

Bulma walked out of the office clutching the photos.

"Just remember Cadet, don't get caught and don't forget that last page of the letter. It may not be any clue but it would not look good if you were found with anything of the sort if there was some sort of surprise search of Cadets quarters."

There was a deep warning in that last part and Bulma knew that it wasn't to be taken light heartedly. If she assumed right then they really did doubt her and were going to search her room for any evidence to suggest she was in league or even in love with the Saiyan monster. She tried to hold back a laugh as she walked past the secretary. It was a ridiculous suggestion but then to others it might not be.

People have a nasty habit of believing what they heard rather than what they know. It was something that Bulma knew too well.

'The humans can be so predictable, cant they?' The ghostly voice of Vegeta purred in her head.

0000

It was pure instinct that lead Jones, instinct to breed, eat and sleep. It wanted to kill Vegeta it was the only goal it knew since it came here. That time was close, that time was so deliciously close. The smell of victory filled the air. It was going to be soon that it would hatch. The feed was almost ready, it just needed to eat and fatten out.

"Why does it refuse to eat?" Jones hissed and the spinning lump above him. He crawled up onto the ceiling and looked into the now dead eyes. It checked the stocks life signs. It was still alive, but only just.

"Answer me human!"

"It tastes like shit." Betty croaked. She liked it when he was annoyed. It meant she had done something to mess up his plans. She wanted him to choke on her.

"You asked for human food, I got you human food."

"It's rotten...." Betty gasped. 'Doesn't this thing understand the simplest thing? You cant eat rotten food, especially with maggots crawling across it.' She threw up again as the memory hit her and this irritated the alien arachnoid more.

"Filthy stock, it messes up my floor."

'It's already a mess.' Betty thought but she had no energy to say it. She had no more will anymore. It was just her and this strange creature that had no empathy no understanding of human taste or morals. She didn't know anything now except that her world revolved around this thing. The comforts of home were a faint memory and she only had her stubborn need to keep breathing that kept her going. Betty's will had broken and the faint threads of hope she had were now gone. She was living on her instincts now and her world had shrunk to the small dingy place and her captive.

The thing sniffed her face; she could feel the mandibles of his mouth caressing her body.

"Still not enough..." It muttered and swung down to the ground floor.

The scared girl was suspended in a ball of web in the ceiling of what was a basement of a large house. Betty didn't know this though; she only knew this as some sort of cave. Although the hidden human gadgets and junk did lead her to believe this had once been lived in. She focused again as it switched on the television.

"You were a prize catch." It chuckled as it saw the news story about her father the Mayor speaking about his kidnapped daughter.

"Daddy..." Betty whispered, a tear run down her face and she closed her eyes. She didn't want to see him. He couldn't help her.

_"So we are moving the Alien Prince to an undisclosed location as another Alien has come in contact with him. It is nothing to be alarmed about and the threat is being subdued as we speak. Prince Vegeta is still in captivity and is very much under tranquilisers. He will not be causing anyone any harm. He couldn't even hurt a kitten."_

The creature laughed hysterically as it heard this. "Oh, monkey has been moved. Monkey will maybe tell me my secrets. We cant let this happen oh no. It is best to hurry with my plans."

_"That is all we can let you know for now. My main focus is finding my daughter safe and sound. If anyone has any leads there is a large reward for any information that will bring my daughter, Betty back to me. I miss you my dear Elizabeth, we'll see each other soon."_ The TV was switched off and silence flooded the room.

More tears ran down her face and she choked on the hot salty water, it was impossible. Nothing could save her from this thing.

"It will be quiet!"

Something pierced Betty in the leg and she felt that now familiar buzz of the poison working. She fell unconscious still crying desperate tears. She didn't believe that there was any way out. She just wanted to fall asleep and let it all go away.

0000

The guards of the new prison had been handpicked by the Warden. They were the most elite soldiers that had now retired and were looking for an easy job still following orders but with no real danger involved. This new mission however had that ting of danger that had excited the older men. This was HIM. This was the Prince of Saiyans! This was the murderer that most of the men could link to a death of some relation or friend.

To put it lightly the Guards all disliked him extremely and did not have any thoughts to stop now. They followed his requests for music and food grudgingly but it had an air of defiance. His tray of food was thrown down and spilt; although most of it was still edible. The music was put on after a five minute silence and under no circumstance was Vegeta referred to as his majesty or even by the name Prince Vegeta. It was always him or that Saiyan in his presence and when the guards thought he was sleeping, bastard and fucker were used as his nicknames.

It was nostalgic for Vegeta. It reminded him of his first year in confinement with all the guards he had seen and eventually see sent away. Every one of them had used the same tactics and every one of the disrespectful ones had been dealt with. He was powerless they thought but their minds were such open books for him to attack. All he had to do was wait and find the weak one. He may be in a cage but Vegeta considered himself the hunter. He had the patience to wait for the moment and it would have to come soon. Jones would be closing his net soon trying to trap the fallen warrior. He was a disgrace to the army of Freeza and he would be killed by Jones. The worst possible death for a warrior like himself; slain by a creature that he would flick away easily at full power. Now though was a different story and Vegeta was the fly being used to catch the spider.

If it all worked to as he planned then he would reverse that situation.

"Hey guys these are the weapons to use to restrain Vegeta!" One guard said holding up the large electric prong.

"We're ordered not to use it unless he acts up." The older Guard warned.

One of the younger boys, Sid chuckled and ignored the warning. He walked over to the cage.

"Everything all right in there for ya?" Sid asked chewing on a piece of gum.

Vegeta didn't reply, it was a stupid question. He ignored him and returned to reading the newspaper.

"Y'know you're pretty rude for a Prince."

This made Vegeta's eye twitch but he did not look away from his reading.

"Hey, I'm speaking to ya!" He reached in to prod Vegeta but his arm was caught.

"Sir, May I ask what youre doing to my patient?" A woman dressed as a nurse and with a head bandage had appeared before Sid. He looked at the beauty and put down the weapon. He was sure there was a rule about beautiful woman interrupting a man's false bravado.

"Miss, you have to wait, were still checking with Dr Oolong!" The Guard at the desk called out to the young bandaged lady. "You can't go in yet!"

I'm afraid I didn't have much time." The Nurse said. "As I told you, I'm Vegeta's nurse Marron Mont Blanc."

"I got that, your ID checks out but I thought woman werent allowed in here." The Front Desk guard sighed but he seemed hesitant. The woman had seen what had gone on in the room and she seemed the smart cunning type of girl. She was the type that could make trouble for you if you pushed her the wrong way. The Guard had seen this type before and been burned.

"Would you like me to tell my superiors that your underlings were going to torture Vegeta for no good reason? I think he was being asked unnecessary questions that did not need any reply."

The Older Guard flinched; she was definitely the type that was dangerous. Vegeta had folded up his newspaper and was sitting with attention watching the scene.

"I do believe Prince Vegeta looks quite comfortable in his new cell and would prefer not to be asked every five minutes if it was okay." Marron sighed. "If he had any trouble I'm _very sure_ he would not hold back to complain."

"Sid, Bert." Vegeta purred. "My nurse is here now. I need my check-up. You do want to know that the ki suppressants are working. He smiled like a tiger baring his fangs. It would be such a pity if they weren't and poor Sid was made armless as well as dickless."

There was a snap from Sid as he heard the insult and was about to lash out. Bert held him back and the pair retreated for a break.

"Miss we'll be watching from the cameras. You don't need to go in to examine him?" Bert asked nervously.

"He has a monitor here for all that." Marron said touching the machine that the Guards thought was just a ki suppressor. "I won't be more than ten minutes. That's all I need."

The door closed and the nurse stepped closer to the cell.

"Welcome to my new home Cadet Bulma Briefs." Vegeta said smiling.

"I don't call this a home." Bulma answered plainly. "I want to know how you did it, posting the letter I mean."

"That's not really that interesting." Vegeta said. "I do like the disguise, that uniform suits you better than that airhead did. I see you even got a bandage on the correct ear. Her blood was quite sweet. I think she ate too many cakes."

Bulma unconsciously touched the bandaged that covered the ear. Nurse Marron was now in hospital getting a fake ear graphed to her head. It was thanks to Vegeta that it had been ripped off in the first place.

"Spare me those details." Bulma said. "You know why I'm here."

"Yes. Of course."

"Then tell me what is Jones really?"

"You already know."

"It's a big spider."

"Correct."

"One that wants you dead."

"Correct again." He smiled at her like she was a pet that had done a trick well.

"So tell me Vegeta how you knew about Jones?"

"Ah, now there is the gem of a question." Vegeta said. "You're asking the correct questions now. Although you do understand this does not come for free. First I want my payment from you."

"You want to ask questions about me?" Bulma tried to hold back her shiver. "It's not that interesting."

"I think you're wrong little Cadet. This is where we will disagree. I feel a great anger in you that you hold back. There is something you hide from the normal creatures on this planet. You have a mask just as I do."

"Perhaps, but its part of being an agent I feel." Bulma said cooly. "There is no need to show emotions in this line of work."

"Then answer me my first question little Cadet. Your family were killed by one of my men, yes?"

"Yes." Bulma shook slightly with anger. "It is my mission to come here and to hold back any personal feelings."

"Although now people think it is different personal feelings." Vegeta smirked tapping the newspaper on his desk. "I never read this type of thing but it is quite interesting about how big a company your father's business is."

"Capsule Corporation used to be the largest capsule company on Earth. We had the patent for the best design. No other company came close to our easy and safe capsule design though others followed."

"How about now?" Vegeta said with a sadistic smile.

"They're perhaps only third or fourth on the market. It was bought by some other company and the patent was also sold along with it. There are other companies now that can make a cheaper capsule for storage of vehicles and other equipment."

"Do you feel angry at the selling?"

"No, not really. I was only 15 at the time it happened. I was young and foolish, full of dreams of love rather than business. If I had taken over it would have maybe faded to nothing."

"So the Princess never really got to take her rightful throne." There was a something hiding behind his eyes as he said this.

"So tell me how did Jones get your attention?"

"He sent me a letter." Vegeta answered simply.

"Where is it?"

"There isn't anything important in it." Vegeta said. "It's hidden very well in my cell. All it says is that Jones is here for my skin and I will die in 3 years."

"He contacted you then so early?"

"Rather clumsily as it turned out, he posted it from that Capsule building." Vegeta said with a tut. It was obvious he disapproved of such easily found methods. "Those buildings do have their own postal service, don't they? The post mark was almost like an address for where he was."

"I guess, he didnt know about that Earth custom."

"Exactly, if that was me I would have researched everything." Vegeta smirked. "Now its your turn again, tell me about your uncle that took you in."

Bulma remained silent as she felt the danger that this conversation was leading. He was worming into her head, trying to mess with her mind. It was the only ammunition he had now.

"Don't tell me he had his own little farm somewhere and took advantage of your young body."

"Nothing of the sort." Bulma said sharply. "The family was good to me. I had everything that I needed."

"You're not there now, what happened?"

"Nothing much." Bulma shrugged and looked at the ground. "It was better that I move out as soon as I could."

"You ran away didn't you?" Vegeta guessed.

"Yeah, I did I was 16 when I up and left."

"What was the trigger?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that there must have been something that made you snap and want to leave."

"I might remember, but tell me Vegeta what does Jones need his victims for?"

"Finally a good question; lets make it a fair trade then little cadet. My facts about Jones for your little trauma that's hiding in your head."

Bulma shivered and looked into those dark pools. She would have to recall that night that she had blotted out from her memory. It was coming back and in the distance she could hear the screams.

0000

Authors Note: For the third or fourth time this is a reminder that this story is NOT a ROMANCE!! I'm getting a bit bored with people asking that. As I've said its more of about the chemistry that the pair have got. If I did put B/V together in this it would be very dark and there wouldn't be any sex scenes or kissing. (sighs deeply.)

Now onto my thoughts of this chapter; it came out so much easier than the last since we had a bit of B/V interaction. Next one might take a few months as we get to the conclusion of the B/V final interaction and we move onto Jones the spider alien thing and the inevitable confrontation.


	11. The Screams of the Monkeys

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or Silence of the Lambs.

Chapter 11

The Screams of the Monkeys

There had been no doubt in Bulma's mind that it would come to this. By entering the prison once again; she had to face his most personal questions. His threat was there he wanted to know what her darkest thought was. He knew she held it back in a cage deep in her mind; just as he held his darkest thoughts for all to see. He saw through her mask that had taken her so long to cast over herself. She wondered though if it really was because they were so alike that he could see this. Or was it another mind trick made by Vegeta, his power now only lying in these words and barbs that he used.

"Is some girl's trauma really so interesting for the Prince of all Saiyans?" Bulma asked, she tried her last stand.

"I find you interesting, isn't that enough?" Vegeta gave her a slanted smile. "Tell me or I don't say anything about Jones as you've come to call him."

"I understand." Bulma said but in her own mind she didn't, why did it matter?

"What set you off from the safety of your uncle's house? You left suddenly why?"

"I found something that I shouldn't." Bulma explained. "They were scientists like my father and I thought I would be safe there with my inventions. I made something I wanted to test out but it never came to fruition. At the time I still had confidence in science that it could be used for good. That was until I found out what type of science my Uncle did."

Vegeta remained silent but she had his attention.

"It was only one month after I had moved there and I was finding it hard to sleep. Something kept waking me up in the middle of the night. It gave me nightmares. At first I thought it was just the shock of losing my parents but one night I was awake working on my invention when I heard the same sound from my dreams. It was a high pitched scream, like nothing I'd heard in the daytime. I thought it might be a trapped animal but it wasn't coming from the forest around the house it was coming from the research building."

Vegeta stayed silent and let her continue. The words seemed to flow from Bulma as she let out something she had never told anyone.

"I followed the sound it was so loud now. I couldn't figure it out. It led me into the laboratories and into the basement. The screams were so loud I had to cover my ears. It was coming from monkeys, cages and cages of monkeys. They had tubes and shaven parts; I'd never seen anything like it before. All those animals were for my Uncle's experiments. All of them were screaming in agony because of science. One of the animals had somehow got out and was screaming loudly. He had been shaved and some chemical was burning on his skin. I managed to grab him somehow. He tried to bite and scratch me he was such a stupid monkey. I gave him a bath and decided that we would escape together. I took the chance to start my search for my experiment. It was a stupid dream of mine, a thing of legend."

"A legend...?"

"It's not important." Bulma said quickly. "I never found what I was looking for the stupid monkey I took with me broke my radar and I was caught long before I had a chance to fix it."

"Radar to find your dream legend?" Vegeta contemplated, it wasn't a question expecting an answer. "So after that you were banned from your Uncle's home."

"In a way, I couldn't stay with his experiments and the monkey was killed. I'd even named him Sun Wukong after the monkey king of legend." Bulma struggled to speak clearly. That monkey had been annoying but it had been her friend for a short time. After it had learned not to bite and scratch her. "I never forgave my uncle. I didn't think that science could be so cruel; that you could use helpless animals to test your experiments on. The monkey Sun Wukong in the legend couldn't die but this monkey did."

"That's not the legend you were chasing."

"It doesn't exist. As I said it was a teenage dream. To find something that can grant your wish so easily without any real effort; it's all a fantasy." Bulma said sternly. "I've learned to live in the here and now and not to put my hopes onto any easy way out."

"I agree." Vegeta said. "Do you still have the nightmares?"

"Yes, they've never gone away."

"Maybe it's reminding you how you gave up on your dreams."

"Very likely, it was because of my running away that I gave up all my rights to Capsule Corps. My Uncle sold the rights as soon as he could. I was no longer the scientist heiress and I was glad, I want nothing to do with science; but I have new goals now." Bulma said. "I want to see Jones caught and that girl saved. Tell me what you know."

"Nicely deflected, I will tell you what I know." Vegeta said. "It's not that much really. I'm an orphan as well, everything I knew taken from me. I am the last of my race; they have been destroyed when I was a child. I have lived my life working for a being, a monster that rules the central universe. To escape him is not easy. He rules a large army and conquers what he feels is a useful planet but he uses his army to purge any useless planets of weaklings. I've been one of the army that would make the attack."

"Then there is someone more powerful than you out there." Bulma said shocked.

"Be grateful that this dirt ball of a planet is on the edge of the universe and has no tactical advantage. Our interest here was to find our missing Saiyan warrior who had been sent here as a child. He was a traitor and not what we had expected so as punishment we did the job he should have done and started to purge this world of all its weakling inhabitants. Call it really a force of habit."

Bulma couldn't hide this disgust in her face. This didn't put off Vegeta but made him smile quite cruelly.

"We were all defeated however and you know the rest. That traitor who is now no longer a Saiyan is hidden on this planet; settled down with a wife and child. It's amazing that our superior species can breed with such inferior stock."

"What about Jones?" Bulma said ignoring his attack at her species.

"I am now a disgraced warrior as I've said. Jones is an insult to my skills to be sent here. My previous Leader has disowned me and has sent this alien insect to attack my weakened state. It does it slowly, building up its body, taking in fluids and information from the inhabitants on the planet. It first arrived in a Capsule Corps building as you know and took on the identity of one of the staff. I received the letter shortly after its arrival. It was taunting me, letting me know that death would be waiting for me in 2 or 3 years. A death that would be made worse as I would be drained by the bug and my life-force taken slowly; it would make me watch as my body withered and died. If it catches me in its web I will die the most humiliating death a warrior could have."

"So it can take on a person's identity?" Bulma asked she needed the main facts quickly.

"Yes to a point, it can make a crude copy of a body but if it wants to get at me it will need a stronger body to break in and take me away."

"Will the girl be the last piece?"

"Possibly, its letter to the police seemed to be in a way to taunt at me. It must be close to fruition of its battle body."

"Battle body?" Bulma exclaimed.

"Yes, it won't be as powerful as me but it will have enough power to destroy a few cities. It won't last long, bit of a Frankenstein creation really, but long enough to get through all this."

"Anything else?"

"I want to hear your feelings." Vegeta said. "I want to know how you find it so frustrating, when you know something is wrong but you can't do anything about it."

"What do you mean?"

"I would kill to rid me of my frustration. You however seem to seek Justice by the more boring way." Vegeta smirked. "Isn't it twice as frustrating knowing something is wrong and you have no power to do anything about it?"

Bulma's lip quivered as her freshly dug up memories ran through her head. He was doing this on purpose to agitate her. "I live with it Vegeta, I live with the screams. How can you live with your screams by making more?"

"The noise drowns out if you make more." He smirked and held up a piece of paper, it was an envelope. "You'll need this."

Bulma stepped closer. He waved it close to the cage; she'd have to reach in to take it.

"You need to start from the source, here..." He offered the envelope. Bulma couldn't resist and went to take it, ignoring her survival instinct that it was a trap. She was pulled into the cage and Vegeta's face was so close to hers. She held her breath as she waited for death trying not to flinch. It was her mistake for trusting him. His grip though was very weak, almost the same strength as a small child and she broke free amazed at how easy it had been. He only kept that cryptic smile on her face. "You'll need what I gave you to find Jones."

Bulma looked at the envelope, it had a scrawled address. She placed it in her bag and backed away from the cage. Her legs were starting to shake from the shock. She could still smell his sweat on her and was sure he had almost kissed her; although it was probably more likely to be a bite. She had expected to have died at that moment.

"I've told you all you need to know, everything is there for you to work it out. You just need to find him now, the clock is ticking." His eyes glanced to the security monitor that showed the view to the elevator. There was a small and distinct person getting off.

"My time with you is over." Said Bulma quickly recognising the Warden and so called Doctor. "I'll find Jones myself but not to save you Vegeta."

"I plan to live." Vegeta smirked. "You should try that sometime. You've let your dreams and real goals escape you. You have no idea how close you were..."

Bulma wanted to say something back but she bit her tongue and hurried. She hated not getting the last word but now was not the time for any of her previous ego. She was also fighting back the tears as she had recalled her past. Her hopes that had been shattered so easily were now gone and she had her work now. She partly wondered what Vegeta had meant but she tried to shrug it off and focus on leaving by the stairs. She made it in time as Warden Oolong passed by barely missing her.

It became a blur as she passed through security and she heard the screams of Oolong as she left. He found by the cameras that she had been inside. She tried to block it out and went to her car and drove off. No-one had stopped her going out the gates and she kept checking to see if she was being followed. Bulma took off the ear bandage and placed it in her bag along with the illegal ID of the nurse she had impersonated. It was she had to admit a bit of a thrill to get in and out so easily; although it made her dread how safe Vegeta was held there. Not because of Jones breaking in and taking him away to kill but of Vegeta escaping before that happened.

She pulled over as she felt she was a clear distance. Her breaks came to a screech, the sound echoed in her mind reminding her of the recent mental scar that had been unearthed. She forgot everything else and gave in to her need to cry. The screams echoing in her head as the constant stream of hot tears poured from her eyes.

000

Director Piccolo was prepared as his secretary told him she had a very angry Dr Oolong on the phone. He smiled a little, he guessed as he was angry that Bulma had got away safe.

"What do I owe this pleasure?" He said in a monotone voice, he knew it would be no pleasure.

"Mr Piccolo is it?"

The Director made his reply without wanting to correct him too much. The pig was angry enough.

"One of your cadets has been in my personal prison I've made for Vegeta."

"I don't know how that happened." Piccolo lied. "My cadets have all been very busy lately with this Jones case."

"I am speaking of that little tart Bulma Briefs!" He ranted. "Just because she's an ex-heiress doesn't mean she has full rights to trample on my parade!"

"I thought this special prison was for Mayor Walker to bait the Jones, not for your own parade." Piccolo replied.

"That's....that's not the point." Oolong stuttered. "I mean that she was banned from coming to see him. They had some un-monitored conversation! I want to know what she was talking about!"

"It couldn't have been Cadet Briefs she's in West City investigating some link to the Jones case. It's very basic detective work, something that needs no interview with Vegeta. Are you sure you have her ID on record?"

"I have video proof!"

"That's not enough; do you have a log of her entry?"

"No of course not she was in disguise!"

"Then how do you know it was Cadet Briefs?"

"Vegeta has been in a strange mood since it happened; only that woman can make him do that!" Oolong snapped.

"I'm very sorry to hear that." Piccolo said. "If you find anything to it, please let us know. We want to give as much co-operation in catching Scalpel Jones."

"I think you'll find that it will be me that makes the break through." Oolong sneered. "No matter how many underhanded tricks or floosies you throw at him. It will be ME!"

The line went dead and Piccolo put down the phone. He had a bad feeling in his gut that something would happen with Vegeta in the hands of that Warden.

"Miss Bell?" He called through to his secretary.

"Yes sir?"

"Order the emergency Alien escape team to be on stand-by."

"Understood."

Piccolo sighed and swung his chair round as he thought deeply. The nagging feeling still wasn't going away. Somehow it felt like it was already too late.

000

Bulma managed to recover her composure and raided her bag for some tissues and a notebook. She needed to jot down everything she could remember. She went into her usual pocket where she kept her pen.

It wasn't there.

Somehow she found one in her glove compartment and wrote down what she now knew. It wasn't much but the most she could understand was that even if Jones was a huge spider; it could take on a person's life. The worker she would be looking for would have left CC very suddenly and would have made no contact to the outside world. This narrowed down her list and Bulma went ahead and scored out some names that she knew were still alive and working in other companies.

She was feeling better already now she was making herself busy. She knew she could look at what Vegeta had handed her now. She looked at the badly written address. It had been posted to Vegeta 3 years ago. She checked the post mark closer and could see the recognisable CC logo. She opened the envelope and was not surprised by the fact that the original letter was not there. She didn't think Vegeta would have made it THAT easy.

She held her breath as she saw the paper was Vegeta's drawing paper. She opened it to see that it was a picture of Bulma again. This time she was dressed in a strange costume. It was disgusting but in a way it was more disturbing. The strange lettering at the bottom Bulma noted was Alien standard which she was quite good at. She read it as "Princess Bride." In the background she could see a blur of a figure that reminded her of the alien Prince.

She felt sick in her stomach and resisted the urge to crumple it up. She would be in trouble if she didn't own up to this. Bulma pushed the paper in her bag and vowed to burn it. What didn't exist anymore couldn't harm her. She rubbed her arm; it felt like it was burning. It was where Vegeta had grabbed her. She pulled her sleeve jacket to look closer and saw a red hand mark the same size as Vegeta's hand. She cursed the Prince and tried to push the thoughts of him out of her head.

Her time with Vegeta was over. There was never going to be another chance to see him again and she was going to do everything in her own power to make sure that happened. That was her final visit. There wasn't going to be any more interviews. It was the last, the final. All she had to do now was find the girl or at least help to narrow the suspects. The clock was still ticking as Vegeta said, it was all going to be over if they didn't find Jones now. If what Vegeta said was right if they didn't catch him before his new form hatched then they were going to be facing another destructive alien. What would it do after killing Vegeta? She knew it would turn to destroying as much as Earth as possible.

It wasn't just Elizabeth's life on the line now. It was the whole of Earth.

0000

Deep in the bowels of the basement, the creature stirred. The prey was finally fattening up.

"It's making good progress."

The unconscious Elizabeth couldn't reply. The creatures improvised IV drip was attached to the girl and going directly into her bloodstream. It was a high glucose formula that was working at preparing her body for the last part that he needed.

This time it would be ready and nothing would stop it! Prince Vegeta would die by its powerful hands. All as his Lord had told him to do!

000

Vegeta looked up at the ticking clock and smelt his hand again. The fine perfume of the woman's scent was quite distracting but it was now time for his move. His time to rise again would come.

"Here's your meal, your...ahem.. Highness." The Guard said as he entered with the Monkey brains soup Vegeta had ordered.

Vegeta fingered his new toy in his hand as he saw the Guard getting closer. If all went to plan then it would be in just a few moments.

He smiled and tried to hold off his laugh.

0000

Author's Note: Oh I am a tease! I know I said no romance but I couldn't resist that last moment in the caged room. Evil LOL. It's also quite a cliffhanger as all three threads are slowly winding to a climax! I swear the next chapter will be soon!

Although if you've seen the movie you'll know what happens next with Vegeta! I will try to make some changes so it's not completely copying the book/movie!

Also Jones is an original creature as I couldn't find a DBZ character that fitted the creature I wanted.


	12. Cat and Mouse

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or Silence of the Lambs. I do not make money from this story.

Warning: There will be some fighting scenes in this chapter that will be quite graphic and gory. There will also be some strong language, you were warned!

Chapter 12

Cat and Mouse

Down in West city a young lady stepped out of an express delivery company and watched as the mail she sent get flown directly away. She smiled, this was her job done. Bulma Briefs was through with Vegeta. He could no longer tease and torment her like his little prey that he would kill at any minute. Now all she had to do was her boring detective work in South city. Although first she had an address she could look up here in West City. It was a tempting thing, an old employee on her list that had changed address and moved to West city. She checked again, there were a few names now living in West City.

She never recognised any of the old Capsule Corporation employees on her list. None of them had been in her home laboratory. She thought this was just as well. She had plenty of dredging of the past with Vegeta in her last interview with him. All she needed was the break of getting through this case with the mundane footwork and leave the action hero thing to her superiors. She was only just a little cadet after all. She was like a mouse in a very big world of cats.

The express letter held in a Capsule car delivery service zoomed overhead. It went over the city and towards a large building in the distance, the FBI headquarters.

000

Oolong looked up and down at the alien prince sitting in front of him. He was stark naked and there was nothing wrong with his scared body, no hidden item that the wench Bulma Briefs had smuggled to him. There was no proof at all that she had done anything but talk. Vegeta just stared at him straight and unafraid. He stood his arms apart to show how he was hiding nothing. His strong body was riddled with scars. One of them was very recent; the electric prod that Oolong had shoved in to attacked him with.

"What did that little tart want?"

"She wanted what all girls want." Vegeta broke out a smirk and twitched his large upper muscle.

"That frigid wench has an icicle up her cunt!" Oolong snarled.

Vegeta's smile disappeared. "You're only saying this as no woman would want a podgy little female underwear thief."

"How did..." Oolong wanted to shout "...know about my underwear stealing?" but he stopped himself. The bastard could smell his latest hoard that he had in his pocket. He didn't have a chance to get rid of his evidence and cleanse the smell as he usually did. He knew Vegeta's nose was able to catch the smell. He'd caught him before.

He turned red in frustration at himself and at Vegeta's outwitting him.

"Put on your clothes scum." Oolong snapped. "We expect your visitor soon anyway. I need to prepare the traps for my new project."

"So you mean to keep Scalpel Jones?"

"Yes I do." Oolong grinned. "In a little cage next to you, to study and hear all that you have to say to each other. It will bring me my fortune after I write book after book about you both."

Vegeta gave a breathless laugh that had no real humour in it. The pig didn't amuse him that much but the length of his greed was forever a fascination to him.

"Greed is only a low level sin." He hissed at Oolong. "Just wait till you see wrath."

"I know of that one too." Oolong snapped and marched back to the guards to give orders to take away all luxuries and food.

Vegeta watched and listened. It wouldn't be long now. He crouched down in his cage, his muscles tight and ready to pounce. It wouldn't be long at all.

000

There is a game of Cat and Mouse to be played out. However will the cat realise it's really the mouse, or will it be too late?

These were the horrid thoughts that plagued a man deep in a secret base east of West City. Not too far away was a dangerous alien monster that was in an insecure prison. Supposedly subdued but that was very doubtful.

Director Piccolo looked at his men all positioned in a nervous line up. This was their first real alien mission. The team had never worked as a full unit before and it showed. Piccolo walked up and down in an agitated manner. He had to wait for the full authority now. It had to be soon, surly the old man must have realised what was being built up?

As if on cue, the elder Chief Director Kami made his appearance as the doors slid open. He took a dour look across the room and the troops armed and ready to go. He took one look at his son and looked away again. He was secretly pleased at this show of power and organisation but felt that he'd hide it some more.

"So this is all your men?" He asked. "Under what authority do we intend to let them go out into West city for?"

I just need five more minutes to wait for your clearance and then we will proceed with our plan."

"Which is?"

"Sir, we intend to surround the temporary prison that Prince Vegeta is being held and contain him under improper management detainment. The Prince's current situation is a possible risk to us all."

"You do understand that this is all a bait trap for Jones?"

"Yes Sir I do, but I do not feel that the aggressive alien will wait that long. Our operative Bulma Briefs has sent me a message already by express mail and has raised concerns."

"Why is a Cadet your operative?" Kami asked coolly. "Especially one Cadet that had been ordered to stay away from Vegeta."

"She was the only one that Vegeta would speak to and the alien Prince has given her enough clues that we can now track down Jones without the bait plan."

"How did some little Cadet do this?"

"I have no idea." Piccolo lied.

Kami merely smiled calmly. "I may overlook this fact depending on what information she got."

Piccolo held out the urgent express envelope. "It just came five minutes ago. We can confirm this is the original envelope that Jones sent to Vegeta 3 years ago."

Kami opened the express envelope to see a scribbled note of female handwriting and also a tattered envelope. "Are we examining the postage?"

"Already done, we have the old Capsule Corp Employee number on the stamp coding and we're tracing his address now."

"Excellent" Kami said cracking into a slight smile. He knew this was the break they needed, it was like a miracle.

"I will split my team into two, the main group to contain Jones and the back-up to protect the citizens from Vegeta if he breaks out."

"Forget that." Kami said holding the envelope up. "Let's take most of our men there and leave just a small team back in West City. We'll show Mayor Walker to trust us FBI agents; this will be our first dangerous alien containment. This is what we were created to do."

"Understood." Piccolo saluted. He already had in his mind his best men that would be left behind to look after the city from Vegeta.

"Get organised and be in the chopper for take-off in five minutes." Kami said. "We're taking Jones down!"

000

Vegeta watched from his hunched position as the guards scattered around his area to continue with his punishment. They were to surround his cage on continual watch. He glared at the sweaty men that leaned against the walls some with their eyes on him and many others looking at anything but him. The glare from Vegeta could freeze their souls and for others it made their stomachs churn. There was a menace from the alien that set them at unease. The men could instinctively feel that something was going to happen soon. Whether it was something from Vegeta or an expected visit from Scalpel Jones they didn't know. It was just that gut feeling that something was wrong.

They would be right.

Vegeta cracked his neck and stood up. He had clothed himself now but he had only got as far as his briefs. This made some men stand up and pay attention. The alien had been still for half an hour. It was a long wait for them with this tension in the air. Vegeta turned his stare at the young guard.

"How's your Mama doing?" Vegeta hissed. "You have a scent of an old sow on you. Seems like she pisses herself and puts her panties in with your wash." Vegeta sniffed, his nose knew he was right.

The guard moved forward, his knuckles white clutching the long taser prod. Another came forward and grabbed his shoulder.

"Let him go for it Bert." Another guard snapped his own anger surfacing. "This bastard needs a lesson. Your Julie died because of him!"

The old guard turned back to the speaker and told him to be quiet. "Shh, this is against the rules! You don't speak about personal things near the prisoner!" Bert was at his wits end, he was surrounded by some very good solders but some very terrible guards. He was the only one that had any experience with being a prison guard. It was starting to show.

"Poor old Bert..." Vegeta sighed. "Looks like you're outnumbered."

Bert turned to the cage to see that the men had all surrounded the old guard. Vegeta had come closer to his bars to watch. His smile was quite terrifying.

"Look guys you should be looking at the prisoner!" Bert pleaded.

"Not until you step outside for a bit." One Guard said. They had circled around him.

"What if I don't?" Bert cried. He had lost sight of the cage now and he tried to push some of the men out of the way. They were bigger and stronger and didn't budge.

"We would escort you out." The largest man said.

"Bill switch off the cameras!" Young Sid shouted, he was grinning at the thoughts going through his heads. "We don't want any evidence."

"Oh no, wouldn't that be a shame if there was evidence." Vegeta whispered. He didn't want to turn their attention, not yet.

"We have a job to do; we need to keep this professional!" Bert tried to reason. "This is a dangerous criminal that needs 24 hour observation!"

"We've been watching him for a whole day now." One guard hissed. "He's helpless little kitten in that cage! He even struggles to lift any weights. We've all been watching the fucker and we know that he has no strength left. It's all been sucked out of him!"

"That's no reason for this." Bert said he knew what the men wanted to do. Revenge was something he could feel from these men, he knew he had it himself but his job came first.

"Your Julie isn't a good reason? Our boy Sid's Dad, isn't a good reason?" A guard raged. "He killed at least one person in everyone's family and friends here. It was in his blast attack on West city! He destroyed our homes our lives! Tell me that isn't a good reason! I sure as hell think it's a good reason to torture this bastard within an inch of his life!"

Bert had crouched down and was shaking his head. He was the only one that saw what was really going on. He now curled up and wished he was somewhere else.

"Don't do this!" Bert sobbed.

"Sorry Bert we have to get it out of our systems." Sid smiled. He wasn't sorry at all.

"DON'T DO THIS!" Bert shouted he was rocking back and forth his arms covering his head.

"Bert...listen we'll take you outside." A Guard offered. "We're doing this whether you like it or not."

"Who says Bert was talking to you." A hushed voice behind them said.

It was immediate as Prince Vegeta lashed out to the nearest guard. Bert had been slowly watching while the men ranted as Vegeta used the pen he had kept hidden to unlock his cage and open the door so quietly that it was eerie. He had calmly walked over with soft footsteps his eyes fixed on Bert. The old man couldn't speak until it was too late.

A guard's arm was twisted into a painful position. He crumpled to the ground that left him open to a stomp on the throat. His treatment was kind compared to Sid who ran at Vegeta with the taser charging a pulse of deadly electricity. Vegeta took the hit but then two fingers reached out and prodded Sid's eyes into his skull. There was a nasty crack as his nose broke with it. Vegeta took the prod and quickly used it on the large guard that might have caused him some problems. The man was dead instantly with the high voltage. His body twitched and convulsed adding to the terror.

There were cries to help but the men had locked the door. The cameras were off. This was all just a field day for Vegeta. He licked his wounded hand as a bullet had grazed him. Without his large ki he was exposed to damage from these primitive weapons. He was however a warrior from birth. He had the skills to kill thousands and he had read some very good literature about the Earth humanoid anatomy. They were a large opening of soft tissues, perfect little pressure points that even with the strength of a kitten if you got the right spot, you could kill.

Vegeta demonstrated this on one guard who tried to fight back by punching Vegeta in the face. He dodged, not as fast as he used to be but he still had the skill. He then jabbed the man in the throat sending him backwards. Then the man was caught by the back of his knee making his fall complete and he was down on the ground. It took another second for Vegeta to make the killing blow by the top of the temples. This Guard had a pocket knife hidden in his uniform. Vegeta pulled the blade out as the other guards screamed for mercy.

"What was it you were saying recently, Ray, isn't it?"

Ray turned round frantic that his name had been remembered. He pounded on the door to be let out. "For God's sake Bill, hurr.." His throat was slit mid-sentence. Vegeta licked the blade and spat out the blood instantly. "Such bad habits of fatty food and drink Ray." Vegeta grumbled wiping his mouth. "You'll never live long eating that kind of crap."

His attention was now turned to the last guard, Bert. He was a cowering mess besides the wall.

"Smells quite bad from up here Bert." Vegeta sniffed. "Although you're going to do me a favour..."

"ANYTHING!" Bert sobbed.

Vegeta smiled. "Yes, that's the way to treat a Prince. Now you guards finally understand. You are going to do everything I say and you might just live through this."

000

Bulma stopped her car in front of the first address. It wasn't that far away from the express mail in the centre of the city. This was the closest one and she checked it on her list. All she needed to do was make some short enquiries and be onto the next one that's all there was to it. She stepped out of the car and noticed that the once clear blue sky was being overcast by some dark clouds.

'Crap and I forgot my umbrella as well.' Bulma huffed.

She walked up the driveway and rang the doorbell. There was some muffled talking and then the door opened to reveal an elderly man.

"Good afternoon Sir, I'm an FBI agent doing some routine check-ups." She flashed her card to the surprised man. "I hope you can be of some assistance. Were you an employee of Capsule Corporation 3 years ago?"

"No, not really." He said scratching his head. "I'm Benjamin Matthews, is that the name on your little notebook there." He pointed to the obvious list in Bulma's hand. She blushed and checked the address.

"No it's not. Is this 17 Forrest Drive?"

"Nope, 16, 17 is across the way."

"Does a Frank Furter live there?"

"Yeah, he's still there. Be careful speaking to him. Since he left CC he's moved back to his Mother's and been nothing but a recluse. I've never seen him much. He used to be such an out-going boy but then after that incident 5 years ago the world is a changed place." The old man sighed and gave Bulma a good look over. He had only seen the badge and notebook before that. "Hey don't I know you?"

"I look a lot like a famous person; I get this all the time." Bulma tried to laugh it off."I'll let you be Mr Matthews."

"Always a pleasure to be interrupted by a pretty lady." The old man laughed.

A female cry of "Ben!" echoed past them and the old man looked guilty and quickly made his excuses. The door shut as the background could be heard a small domestic argument.

Bulma ignored it and went on to the correct address. This would take a lot longer than she thought if she didn't get her mind clear. 'Just a few more rounds of this and then I can go to my hotel for a nice hot bath.' She tried to remind herself. Although we should all know that Bulma wasn't ever going to get her wish.

000

The alarms sounded in the facility made up to be Vegeta's new cell. The guards were scrambling into action. The alarm had been raised once the Guard at his station Bill couldn't get in contact with the other men inside. What was also worrying was that the door was jammed. They got the large sledgehammer designed for knocking down doors and hurried to break it open. Guards from all the different areas were rushed into position over any and all exits. If the Prince had escaped there was no way out. They knew he had been reduced to the strength of a normal person but that didn't make it any less frightening.

"Keep your guns aimed and ready!" The Captain shouted. "This is not a drill, be ready to shoot on sight."

The men held their guns up and the large thumps from the door being forced opened sounded like their hearts. The large doors finally gave in and there was a flash of a body moving. The men opened fire instantly and the body of one of the guards was splattered across their faces.

"Jesus Christ!" the Captain cried. "Hold your fire!"

It was clear that the man had been strung up to look like he had been standing in front of the doors when they opened. There was a small sign from his gasping breath that he had been barely alive before they fired. The men all felt this guilt and with shaking guns they entered. Some men stayed behind in formation ready to get rid of any escape attempts from Vegeta.

"Damn it the window is open!" A guard shouted. "Why is there a bar missing on that window?"

"Get some men up to the next floor up, check the side of the building!" The Captain commanded.

"CCTV hasn't seen anything from the first floor; the outside of the building is completely monitored!" A communications officer informed them. "FBI has this place surrounded."

"Thank God someone's doing their jobs." The Captain muttered. He checked around him, it was clear that this situation had occurred because of the men's error.

"Hey! We got a survivor!" A small guard shouted. "It's Bert!"

They gathered round the old man, his face was unrecognisable. It had been slashed into pieces. The only sign that it was one of theirs was the uniform and name badge soaked in blood.

Captain Pavlova looked down and took out his pistol. He shot Bert between the eyes.

"Oldest trick in the book." The Captain snapped as his men looked at him appalled.

"Sir, we've spotted bloody footsteps upstairs! Vegeta has climbed to the 6th floor!"

"What!" The Captain bent down and pulled at the mess of face that had once been Bert. The skin didn't pull away. The senior Guard made a guttural sound as he tried to clear his throat. He had been so sure when he pulled the trigger. "Get more men upstairs and look for that bastard!"

Up on the 6th floor the men already there followed the footprints but it was lost in the water storage room. The whole floor was awash with water and the blood trail tapered away. The large access pipe was open and the small group of men peered into the pool of water. A bubble came up to greet them.

"Where does this pipe lead?" One man asked.

"It's a direct line to the reservoir lake, it is water all the way for miles, there's no way a human can hold his breath that long!"

"Plus this pipe is so narrow!"

"This thing isn't human." A guard reminded them.

They all stared at the pipe in disbelief, it was a far reaching idea but maybe, just maybe the Prince had done it.

"Who's going to tell the Captain?" A guard whispered.

000

Deep down below them in the reservoir water supply pipe a dark figure clawed its way to freedom. It was the Prince of Saiyans a warrior trained to kill and to stop at nothing until he reached his goal. There was only one main thing that he wanted and he was going to do everything in his power to get it. The chaos of the building was far behind him as he made his was slowly, slowly along the narrow pipe. He made his next move in his head and the one after that. He had researched this building thoroughly before he was moved. There was no margin for error. There was more than one way out of a rat trap and he had found the best way. Even without his power swimming such a length was no trouble, he had been practicing holding his breath secretly for the past 3 days since he had made this deal.

'It was all just too easy.' He thought as he struggled on in the dark pipe.

000

Author's note: Hope that wasn't too much for anyone. Just going to say, I did warn you all at the top of the page, so don't blame me! I did want to make it a different escape from the movie since that was Hannibal's way of doing things and not Vegeta's. I will need to proof read and get a beta for this story I know, doing it all by myself I may overlook some things. If you spot anything obvious let me know and I can correct it.

Thanks for the small support to those that have read this story, I love how this is going and I'm enjoying it so I hope you are too. It's a shame this doesn't get as much support as my romance/comedy B/V's.

It's not long now till this story comes to its crux. I know people are expecting a big finale and I hope I can give it to them. Maybe it's not the end though? You shall have to wait and see.


	13. Hunt the Hunter

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or Silence of the Lambs. I do not make money from this story.

Warning: There will be some strong language and scenes not for the faint of heart, you were warned!

Chapter 13

Hunt the Hunter

The helicopter swerved around as the crew of FBI agents all set up for direct confrontation sat in silence waiting for the drop. This was what they had been trained for 5 years for. Since the evil aliens attacked the Earth and almost purged the planet of all life. The original title of the Bureau was the Federal Bureau of Investigating Alien Aggression Against the Earth. That made the abbreviation FBIAAE, which was very quickly shortened to FBI.

Kami overlooked his men that sat in the main part of the helicopter. They were all nervous and he wanted to say a kind word to help, but he fought against it. He needed to be aloof to help lead the men he could not show them any soft emotions. He hadn't always been such a hard person but he had found it much easier to put on this mask. Even when in front of his own son he could not let it slip. Kami had a duty to protect and watch over the Earth and he was going to do that no matter what; even if it sacrificed his own relationship with his son.

"How is Director Piccolo's position?" Kami asked the Communications officer who was ready with his radio.

"Not yet Sir, the Director has taken 10 of our men into West City after Vegeta." The soldier answered.

"I can't believe it just when we're closing in on Jones he does this." Kami hissed through his teeth. The men did not have any authority to answer and stayed silent. It was perfect timing from Vegeta; he knew that the distraction of catching Jones would make the FBI lessen their watch on him. It was a brilliant strategy to give that letter to Bulma at that time. All the information they needed was on that envelope. They could trace where it had come from and follow the link. The alien had taken up a human identity and that could be traced so easily. They still didn't know exactly what kind of alien they were up against but with all their anti-ki equipment the size and powers wouldn't last long.

"Be ready for anything Men." Kami said thinking aloud. "We don't know what we're fighting really other than it's a giant spider. Prepare for the worst."

The men answered with a quick affirmative and returned to the silence. They needed to focus to get ready for whatever was going to be thrown against them. It wasn't worth thinking about the other trouble; that Vegeta the killer of millions was now loose in West City. No, it was best to focus on a small serial killer of a dozen people. Best not to think of any mass murderers at all when they were going towards another killer.

000

Piccolo sighed a deep 'I thought as much' sigh and listened to the Captain of the personal Guard. There was chaos in the building that had once held Vegeta. Ambulances, fire fighters and Police all ran about looking for something to do. Director Piccolo looked at his small army of 10 men and wished for more. This was not something he had prepared for really. He knew Vegeta would be trying to escape. That he would take the advantage of being moved to a less secure position. What he didn't expect was that they would have made it so easy for him.

"There's no need to be crying over the incident now and trying to place blame." He snarled at the arguing Captains of the Security, Police and Fire Fighters. "I want detailed maps of this facility and specifically the sewage systems! Where do they come out? Is there a Treatment Plant that he will get caught up in? Get me these answers now and secure the perimeter so no press can get in to hear about this. No one say a damn word to them until we get the official statement organised! If we're lucky we can catch this alien before there's a full blown panic!"

The men and woman around him listened and saluted. This was better to have someone shouting orders rather than listening to random orders from different Captains. The Captains too were glad in a way that the strain had been taken away. This was not their fault; it was the FBI's it was better if they took charge now.

The small group of FBI agents ran towards the last position of Vegeta and surrounded the area. Piccolo made a quick view of the chaotic mess that had been left. The lock had been easily picked by Vegeta and he found in the cell the very plans he had been asking for. There was a reason Vegeta had been making efforts to be moved here. He had the damn blueprints in one of his library books.

"Damn clever of you Vegeta." Piccolo said in small admiration. "No real power level but still enough to escape and kill like these ordinary humans."

"Sir?" One of the Agents seemed confused by his words.

"Don't worry about it." Piccolo said, "Just concentrate about the situation at hand."

The agent saluted and continued to scout around the room.

'There's clearly nothing here anymore. Vegeta's had this planned for a while.' He checked the stamp of the book; it came from his original Prison library. 'He's planned this for quite some time and we were all too stupid to underestimate the Saiyan.'

He threw the book down and focused his mind. He needed to think quickly, if they didn't catch Vegeta soon he would destroy everything he and his father's Bureau had built to protect.

000

In another part of the city far down in the Industrial quarter away from the hectic noise of the city; a lone figure sat panting on the edge of gutter. The dark form was hunched over vomiting out the bad water he had swallowed. It had been worth it though. His silent training of holding his breath had all been worth it. He wasn't used to this weakened state; he could have swum that length a lot quicker at his peak. He could have escaped by ramming a huge hole in the wall and flying away. That was far from his ability now. He was feeling the limits of a body suppressed of power for 5 years.

Vegeta crawled along the embankment and rested his back up to look at the night sky. The stars sparkled back at him and for once he had a view he could feel he could enjoy. Even the smell of the open water pipe with its foul unclean water was an odour he could enjoy. It wasn't the stale cell air he had been breathing for 5 years. No this was the air of freedom. He was in every mind to make sure he stayed that way. He had timed it right though the length of pipe from that State Courtroom to the Industrial Water Works that was a good 30 minute swim. He had worked it all out perfectly.

Now he had to hope that the clues he had given would clear up the last mess left. The creature sent by Freezer to kill his weakened state. The Lord of the Galaxy would trust him to be dead soon and he would be free to grow more powerful to rise up to his rightful throne. He held his breath and tried to muffle his laugh. He wanted to bellow it out loud but the humans would be after him soon. It wouldn't take a genius to find out where the pipe led to.

He cast a sad eye up at the moon and wondered about Bulma. It wouldn't be long till they found that Spider scum. If he was lucky they would find it before it got to evolve to its final form.

'If not, too bad for Earth, they'll have another massacre on their hands.' He grunted back another laugh and tried to hold back the full echo. He had to move and he wobbled onto his feet and slowly limped away being careful to mess up the footprints as he walked. He wanted a more exaggerated walk to make it seem he was in a worst state than he was. He looked across the area and saw a dim light nearby. It was a dim light of a parked car, his ride out of the hell he had known and a big step into the freedom he was becoming very used to.

000

Bulma Briefs was unaware of the chaos in the centre of the city and after a long afternoon of chasing down people that were no longer at any of the addresses, she was slowly feeling she was losing her mind. 'It's as if this was out to just waste my time, not one former employee is at the same address.'

"Well here we go, Mr Mustard, let's see if you're still where you say you are." She rang the door and waited.

00

Meanwhile at the exact same time...

FBI agents had surrounded the small house that was the last address of a certain employee who had posted the letter to Vegeta. This was the last clue that had been the nail in the killer's coffin.

Kami watched from the van as the disguised deliveryman with a hidden gun moved in first as Scout. A hand signal was issued and the Scout pressed the doorbell.

000

Bulma checked the address it was the right place this time, 444 Mortimer Drive. She rang the doorbell again and huffed impatiently. This would be the last person on her list after this it would be South City and checking the addresses of all the ones that had moved. There was a thump from behind the door as something moved. 'Great, bet I got someone who was in the shower. Boy, are they not going to be happy to see me.'

000

A shadow loomed in the window of the door and snipers aimed at their target. They had no idea what to expect other than it was a killer. The door rattled open and a face grimaced at them.

"I didn't order any flowers."

"I'm sorry Ma'am I was told this address, are you Mrs Mustard?"

"Who? No my name is Baba!" The old woman hissed. "Mustard used to live here but it was 3 years ago. She died and I inherited the house as the son didn't seem to want it."

"The son?"

"What's it to you? What are all these questions?" She snapped. "Why is there a man standing with a gun on my begonias! Hey you get off my lawn!"

"Move in... as FBI!" Kami ordered. This couldn't be a mistake! It had to be correct; they'd piled all their bets onto this place being the killer's assumed identity.

"I'm sorry Ma'am we're FBI."

"Do you know how long I toiled over those flowers, you get off them already. Oh my stars, there's someone in my Cherry tree as well!"

"Get as much information as you can and get ready to check the next address!" Kami shouted. This was not going well. He couldn't let two murderers escape in one day. It just wasn't possible that fate could be this cruel!

000

Bulma cricked her neck as she looked down at the old person peering past the door.

"Is this Mr Mustard's residence?'

"I haven't heard that name in yearsss my dear..." The woman lisped. She had a strange way of speaking and was making Bulma shudder a little. "The young man moved out when hiss mother diedsss."

"Do you have a forwarding address?" Bulma asked.

"Perhapss, please wait..." The figure fumbled as it turned awkwardly and Bulma fought her urge to help the struggling woman. The dress seemed too long for her and just seemed to drag on the floor. She glanced into the door and saw the horrid state of the room. It was in total disrepair, the cobwebs hung down low and she saw the rusted box that the woman shuffled through seemed to be collapsing as well.

"The mothersss addresss is in Ssouth ssCity..."

"I see." Bulma held her breath and continued to look around. There was something incredibly off about the house other than being just some strange old lady's home. The sink and dishes seemed to be completely unused. In a reflex action Bulma unclipped her gun. There was no sign of any recent cooking or any sign of use in the room. The dust and lack of footprints on the floor seemed unusual as well. It just didn't seem like someone had walked through it with human feet.

"How long have you lived here Miss...?"

"3 yearss..."

"I see..." Bulma reached for her gun. A spider now swung down from the ceiling and crawled into her ear.

"I have foundsss it!" She exclaimed and her clawed hand showed the piece of paper.

"KEEP THOSE ARMS OR WHATEVER THEY ARE RAISED!" Bulma shouted, her adrenaline rushing into her body as she aimed her gun at the creature's head. Now she could see in the house and the thing wasn't hiding behind a door or a funny head scarf she could see how wrong it looked. It was just a light skin wrapped around something else that moved in an unfamiliar way.

Something shot out at Bulma's eyes and she winced back. She had no time to lose this was Jones! She fired some shots and heard a thud as it hit the wood of the door. The thing had escaped! Bulma pulled out her phone and dialled quickly. It had moved down into the dark basement that Bulma hoped did not have any escape routes.

"This is the FBI, please state the emergency."

"This is Cadet Agent Bulma Briefs at 444 Mortimer Drive West City! I request back-up! I have the suspect for the Scalpel Jones case in my sites and I am making an arrest!"

"That is not advised Agent Briefs you do not have authority for such an act."

"I don't have time for this! It's Scalpel Jones; this is his real address, get as many men here and I'll try to keep him in the basement."

"Understood, you're in his house now. Please do not endanger yourself, I'm currently issuing assistance and help should be there in 10 minutes."

"I'm not sure if I can last that long, I've no idea if the basement is secure."

"We understand and units will be on the way. I have called the police and they should be there first."

"Okay thanks." She hung up the phone before she could get the "Stay safe Cadet" message that she cut off.

Bulma knew that she wasn't a full agent and that a full agent wouldn't have as much difficulty getting authority to take down a suspect. She pushed those thoughts behind her and kicked the door that the creature had gone through.

A dark stairway leading down greeted her and she cursed under her breath. This thing had escaped; she noticed the splatter of green blood. She had clipped it at least. It was injured and crawling away for safety. Bulma pulled out her mini torch she used for her keys at night and wished it was brighter. If she had time she could have waited for back-up and guarded the entrance. However the shot had been fired the hunt was on for Bulma and she was not letting this alien monster out of this house! She had no idea if it was able to find an escape route in the basement and she didn't have the will to wait to see if there was.

The steps down into the basement were dirty and covered in webs. She stepped through the thin silk as the daylight behind her got dimmer. She could hear some muffled screams and she followed the noise. Bulma found a large web hanging a humanoid shape. There were tufts of hair and eyes glaring at her from the wrappings. It was Elizabeth! She was alive!

Bulma pulled at the mouth and watched the girl gasp for breath.

"Get me out of here!" Elizabeth whispered.

"I have to take down the suspect." Bulma answered. She wanted her to stay quiet. She wished she hadn't removed the wrappings now. "I need you to do me a favour and stay quiet a little bit longer. Help is on the way."

"I've been waiting for over a week in this hell!" Elizabeth snarled. The sight of another human being was making her regain some strength. "Just get me the hell out of here!"

"I can't do that yet..." Bulma said averting her eyes. The girl was pleading at her. She could save the girl and wait for the back-up but... it could get away. "This place isn't secure yet, you're safe where you are."

"I'm dangling in the middle of the fucking air you Bitch, get me the hell down!"

Bulma didn't answer as she heard scuttling in front of her. Jones was still around. She hoped that was a good thing.

"I'll be back." Bulma said. "Just stay calm, help is on the way." She wanted to say that she didn't want to be lumbered with an obviously injured civilian that could endanger herself even more.

"Fuck you!" Elizabeth squealed. Her voice was cracking. "I hope it bites your head off because I'm next!"

Bulma signalled to her to be quiet but Elizabeth had turned frantic with fear. There was nothing more she could do for her; until the real help could arrive. Bulma swallowed as the abuse continued from Elizabeth until she was sure she had run out of energy. She clicked her torch off and crawled forward. The weak yells from Elizabeth still continued but Bulma found a way to block it out. The very real threat from the alien was in front of her. There was no time to worry about any name calling.

The room she walked into was completely dark and her finger lingered on her little torch. She had no advantage here Bulma was walking into the parlour of the spider.

000

Author's Note: It's such a terrible cliff-hanger but this is the best place to stop so I can build up the fight next chapter. Bulma will be facing an unknown alien enemy without any back up. Yeah I know the thing speaks like Gollum but how else is a spider with a very bad skin disguise going to talk? I promise I won't let it say "My preciousss" I swear!

I'll try my best to update before this year ends.


	14. Enter the Parlour

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or Silence of the Lambs. I do not make money from this story.

Warning: There will be some strong language and scenes not for the faint of heart, you were warned!

Chapter 14

Enter the Parlour

It was needless to say that Bulma Briefs was incredibly aware of the danger she was in. She was also aware that this was not a normal situation. If she let this alien escape now it could reach its final form and reign terror and slaughter across Earth. They could not afford another tragedy like the Saiyan Massacre. The screams from Elizabeth still echoed behind her that seemed to reassure her that there was someone with her. True the girl was tied up in some weird web but she was there. She needed to get rid of Jones before she had any chance of taking her down. This needed to be done before anymore people suffered under this creature's murder spree.

The darkness that welcomed her as she opened a door deeper into the basement sent a chill up her spine. Bulma kept her gun cocked and ready to release at any sign of moment. The dim light from behind her seemed to grow weaker as she walked further in. Any windows from the side of the house had to be blocked up. This thing liked the dark and it was a fair bet that it could see in the dark as well. She had her small handbag sized torch but it wouldn't help. It would only blind her and lead the creature directly to her.

Bulma tried to keep her breath shallow; she didn't want to pant so hard that she showed her position. It was probably too late as she heard the door slam behind her. It was totally pitch black now and the musty smell of a long forgotten room full of dust and cobwebs filled her sense of smell. She felt for the edge of the wall and kept her back against it. She didn't want to be surprised from behind and she silently cursed every time she shuffled along the edge and banged her foot against anything.

The buzzing from the insects that fluttered in vain against the blackened glass was rumbling in her ears. Her careful footsteps creaked against the floorboards. The blackness was now all enveloping and the faint hiss that seemed to be mocking Bulma made her even more aware of her danger. This was not the sensible thing to do but she needed to catch him, she needed to take Jones down so this nightmare could be over.

Bulma was a fat juicy peach in the alien's eye. It watched her as she entered; the human was an appetiser for its next evolution. It would suck out her marrow and devour her flesh before she got a chance to shoot that useless weapon she held up high. It was a pathetic primitive gun that could do little damage to its far superior body. It had time; it could toy with this prey. The fleshy young flesh would taste sweet in its mouth.

She walked unsteadily past the creature; her foot feeling the ground as if she was a new born lamb. Her hair brushed past its eyes and it smelled the scent of her sweat. It could hear the pounding of the young woman's heart as she searched for a sign of where it was. The alien found some amusement in the audacity of this human; that this little creature with no power level could even harm it in any way. This was the closest it had ever come to the law; it had always managed to stay clear of authorities. There was something amusing with the idea of having a small game with this helpless and foolish human female.

It let out a hiss and it was amused at the human frantic turning at the slight noise.

"I am armed and I have full authority to shoot on sight!" Bulma shouted. Her voice was steady and strong but she shook as she held her gun. This was nothing like the training she had been receiving. There was no back-up or an instructor only a meter away watching her and ready to give advice. She was desperately alone and Bulma could sense how much she was over her head with the situation.

A scuttling noise near where the hiss had been let Bulma know it was on the move. She was being watched and it hadn't attacked yet. Bulma knew that this meant it was either evaluating how much of a threat she was to it or that it was just playing a game with her. She shuddered in dread as her gut told her that it was most likely the last one. There was no way such a creature that was here to destroy Vegeta could consider herself as a threat.

She had an idea of where it was but she was unsure how her ordinary gun would work against such an unknown beast. She had a slight understanding that this was similar to a spider but how much was it similar to an Earth spider she had no idea about. This fact and the darkness she was swimming in kept her senses screaming of the danger she was in.

The screams in her mind increased as something hit her leg making her stumble. The hissing increased and she shot out towards the direction she could feel it moving to. There was a flash of blinding light as the gun fired and a glow of eight eyes stared back at her. There was a sickening thump as the bullet found something soft and fleshy.

"You triesss to hurtsss usss."

Spots sparkled in Bulma's eyes as her eyes tried to adjust to the light that had dazzled her. She shot another bullet but this time there was a 'ching' sound as the bullet hit something metal. She cursed under her breath and knew that it was only a matter of time before it retaliated. The hissing echoed around her in a raspy gloating laugh. The monster had been hit but it was only a flesh wound. It was nothing compared to the pain it was about to inflict on the weakling human before it.

It drew closer as Bulma threw her gun around in panic, she could hear it all around her but she couldn't tell from which direction. Her trigger finger shook on the cool metal waiting for the moment to pull. She held her breath in fear that she could miss the vital sound with her own loud pants. The faint scurry noise of what she imagined had to be what a spider sounded like if she was an ant. She flicked the switch on her torch and pointed it directly at the noise. Eight eyes flashed red at her in the darkness as it was blinded by the sudden light.

Then the beast leapt on her, it was in slow motion for her as Bulma fired her gun in rapid succession. She felt its jaws on her arm and cried out in pain. The furry legs pinned her down; she fired her last bullet towards the large bulky body that towered over her. There was a sickening splatter and she felt her face being covered in a mess of goo that had to be whatever major organs that were now scattered around. Her torch had landed on the floor and light shone across the monstrous body. The light shone on something bright and with a large red danger sign. It was some sort of flammable gas, she reached out and knocked the can over. The contents started flowing out towards her and the monster still writhing on top of her. Bulma kicked hard into the wound that she had caused, there was more sickening squelching noise as she shattered open the soft insides. She rolled to the side and went into her pocket where her cigarettes and more importantly her lighter were. She thanked her bad habits as she clicked it alight and put the flame down into the liquid. She singed her hand and she backed away from the billowing fire that sprung up.

Bulma used the last of her strength to get up and move further away as the flames encircled the screaming alien. It tried to follow Bulma to bring her into its fangs and into the fire but it was too late for it. The large body had begun to burn and the flesh wound was slowing it down. The fine hair on the creature was like tinder to the flames and it engulfed the beast. It lurched up in an attempt to get to where Bulma was but it was now blinded by the light and missed by mere feet.

There was another hideous squeal from the thing as it gasped in a sudden death throw. This could not be his demise! It was almost complete; it was almost the perfect killing machine to take down the now weakened Prince! The bullets though small had gone into the abdomen where his softer underbelly was exposed. The fire was burning its flesh and was now reaching its essential organs.

"Lord… Freezzaaa….forgive meeee…" It groaned and spat. The weakling human that had taken it down wouldn't have long to live, there was no way the human could escape the basement in time. It gurgled a hiss of satisfaction. It could die knowing that at least the woman would soon follow. The giant spider let out a slow sigh as it finally crumpled to the floor leaving an exhausted Bulma Briefs.

She staggered to her feet but her knees wobbled, unable to support her. The main danger was away but her heart still raced and tears streamed down her face. Her lungs were slowly being choked with the thick smoke that was filling the room quickly. She couldn't believe that she had done that and she winced with pain as her arm twitched from the bite. She could smell the stench of the creature now as it cooked and it was overwhelming. She gagged and tried to crawl away from it. There was no way for her to know the actual exit or the way she had come. The light that the fire provided was blocked out by the smoke as the junk from the previous tenants caught on fire as well. Her head began to spin and she could hear the shouting of the kidnapped girl.

"I got him Elizabeth…" Bulma gasped but her voice was too weak to be heard by the terrified and furious woman in the other room. As far as Elizabeth was concerned she had been abandoned by this FBI agent and was left to her death. The shouting led Bulma to her but her energy was gone and she could only reach the edge of the door where the girl shouted. Bulma knew she had left a message with her office, they would be coming soon.

"My back-up…where are you…?" Bulma sighed and her eyes rolled back as she fell unconscious.

The blur of colours and smells assaulted her in her dream. It was as if she floated above it all and light soon dazzled her eyes. She could hear the screams of Elizabeth; she could smell such a strong scent of sweat and smoke. She nuzzled into something warm and comforting and very familiar. It carried her safe above it all away from the monster. It made her feel secure and she clung to the warmth but it soon so cold as she felt the hard ground and her wound woke her up. She was being attended to by a medic who was poking her very painful arm and burns.

Bulma glanced around and could see she was sitting outside on the ground. Her arm was bleeding heavily and the medical staff around her were quickly trying to wrap her up and put her on a stretcher. She managed to mumble a few answers to the questions being asked by the emergency crew. She was confused and she tried to get her bearings pulling the mask off her face.

"Why am I outside..?" She groaned but no-one could answer her.

"You're going to be fine, Agent Briefs." The medic assured her as she was lifted up. "We got here just in time by the looks of it."

Bulma couldn't comment as the oxygen mask was placed over her again to help her breath. She managed to grunt. She saw in her blurred vision the house being surrounded by officers. She couldn't stay awake anymore and slowly fell back under. The chaos raged on around her as the survivor of Scalpel Jones. The FBI officers that had been drafted in on helicopters at the last minute to give the back-up that Bulma needed had arrived too late but just in time to get the media attention. The one person that could explain it all was away in the ambulance and the men and woman left were only able to make small comments that the situation had been contained. A shaking and still bound Elizabeth had been pulled out of the building with the camera's flashing. The traumatised woman was escorted into the emergency vehicle and her head covered from the prying eyes.

Piccolo arrived just as she was being put onto the ambulance and made a quick check with the staff that she was okay. For a horrible moment he had thought the distress call had been about Vegeta and that he had started his rampage but all was still quiet. The monster had appeared to have disappeared. Whatever trail that had been left at the sewer outlet had been well masked. He had left his men searching the area as he came to check up on Bulma. The other men that were with the Chief Director Kami were in another city, the back-up almost didn't reach her in time. The full city police force had closed down all routes out of the city but he knew that with this incident as well they were stretched to their limits.

"Where did all these reporters come from Agent Pistachio?" He demanded.

"Sorry sir, we didn't have the back-up, all main team members were out on duty." Agent Pistachio explained. "I just got here myself but the police were the first on the scene because of the fire. The media seem to have been tipped off from the Police or someone with connections to the Police. The damage is done now."

"Any sign that the alien escaped?" Piccolo asked.

"None Sir, the small fire has now been brought under control so we're searching it now." Pistachio said. "We think we may have a body, it's like a giant crispy bug. We're waiting till we get the cover of the tents till we bring it out to the van."

"That's good." Piccolo sighed. "At least we got one of them. I want that place cordoned off and under full FBI jurisdiction! This has been no common house fire!"

The Agent `saluted and ran off to speak to the Police that were trying to contain the now growing crowd. Piccolo only had to reflect slightly on his instinct that made him put Bulma Briefs on this case. He knew she was nosy enough to be an Agent but she really did surpass his expectations. She had an amazing amount of luck to be able to go up against such a creature with only the most basic of training. She had been at first just a front to fool the Prince into speaking to them but somehow it had worked and unfortunately that had led to his escape. It had been manipulated all by that Prince of Saiyans and now he was loose on the Earth as his power would surely return to him.

'It's now only a matter of waiting till he makes his move; I doubt we can catch him before that.' Piccolo sombrely thought to himself.

000

Far from the city limits it could be said that the Prince was also thinking of the same thing. He was now much weaker than he thought. As he was out of the influence of the Ki restraints it was becoming clear that the chemicals that were also pumped into him had been effective. He glanced into the pick-up cabin where he could see the homely couple that had picked up the lone hitchhiker. They had no idea that they were harbouring a fugitive. If they did find out Vegeta knew how much more work it would be to make them silent about it. He ran his hand through his now blonde and short hair and adjusted his hat. It had been a sacrifice to destroy his once proud haircut but this was about survival. It had been a rule that had been drilling into him since childhood; once the Saiyan hair was cut it would never grow back. He had managed to sweep it down into a shorter pony tail and once he had left this couple's truck he planned to change the colour and make it even shorter. His only pride he had now was staying alive so he could get closer to his own goals.

It had now been a whole 12 hours since his escape and he had as much use as he could of the time. He listened to the faint engine and as the couple listened to their droning country music he could phase that out and silently keep his plans fresh in his head. He had researched the human culture well and as long as he was as weak as a human he would have to act like one and hide like a hidden thorn.

"Excuse me Son; this is as far as we can take you." The Old man said. "We're turning off here to our farm."

Vegeta jumped off and looked at road ahead. "This will do fine, thank you."

"Such a polite young man, you're a rare breed."

Vegeta smiled and tipped his hat. "I believe I am."

"If you keep going along this road you should come up to the village of Korn." The man said.

"I think that will do fine, it's been a while since I did a long hike."

The pick-up drove off down a side road and Vegeta was left to his own thoughts again. It had crossed his mind at killing the old pair but it was an unnecessary death, it may lead to a clue as to which way he left West City. It had been so easy to slip out a small road and find the highway, completely missing any road blocks and checks. He needed to get away from the Chaos that the now dead Jones and his own escape had left. He smiled at his new found ability, he had found it hard to use it in the jail but outside away from the cell and restraints he found the energy flowing around him. This was the so called ki sense that the Warrior that had defeated him had used. This was something that needed no technology it was something from within. It proved to Vegeta that he still had his innate abilities; he still had the chance to recover and find his vengeance. Even if for now his body was weak his mind was still active and able to use something beyond all the humans.

He walked on down the road a free Saiyan and his mind full of all the wonderful possibilities that lay before him.

000

Author's Note: Am I finished? No, this will be continuing. We need an update from Bulma and Piccolo and also probably from Vegeta who is on the road to freedom! (I have the song "Road to No-where" stuck in my head with this image!)

Next part will either be the epilogue or an epilogue of this arc and on with another. I haven't decided to finish it next chapter or to just carry on following were this story leads. I have a few ideas and feed-back is always welcome. I will decide by the end of the next chapter. So no cliff-hanger this time but a small conclusion. Shocking!

My next update, whenever it will be will be sometime…not going to say when as real life has a habit of getting in my way.


	15. Unsettling Conclusions

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or Silence of the Lambs. I do not make money from this story.

Warning: There will be some strong language and scenes not for the faint of heart, you were warned!

Chapter 15

Unsettling Conclusions

In the local hospital of West City Bulma Briefs was in a private room and making a slow recovery. She was amazed at her own daring and wondering whether it was bravery or stupidity. To settle her mind she resolved on thinking that it was a little bit of both. If she hadn't gone in the girl, Betty would have been killed. If she had gone in and failed she could have been killed as well. It wasn't something she was proud of no matter how much praise she got from her Director, friends and tutors.

It seemed to her that it had been an empty victory. She had got lucky, that was all. She had an intense time battling the venom and smoke inhalation. Not to mention the wounds that the creature had made were deep and painful. It had involved some stitches that Bulma knew were going to leave a scar. Her inner vanity was simply too hurt, she would never wear a bikini again but she could be thankful she was alive. There was a knock at the door and for the second time that week Bulma was faced with a stern looking Director Piccolo.

She sat up and tried to hide the pain as her stitches pulled with her movement.

"Bulma is it okay?" He asked. He seemed to have brought paperwork instead of the usual fruit or flowers. "The doctors have been saying that your body is reacting well to the anti-venom."

"I know. I think I should be out by the end of the week." She smiled weakly. "I'm getting sick of looking at these walls. I really just want to get back to my studies."

Piccolo stayed silent for a second and wondered if she was just trying to keep herself busy. He could see her looking directly at him and decided it was just the way she was.

"So you know by now that Vegeta has escaped." He sighed. He put the paperwork next to her bed. "This is really just a witness statement that I'm asking you to make. Both for Jones and Vegeta. The Jones one we've already got your unofficial statement but just write it down. Take your time I don't need it till next week."

"Why for Vegeta?" Bulma asked, she really couldn't escape him. The newspapers that were scattered across her bed were covered in stories about him. She couldn't avoid him and for some reason she didn't want to. She had even had press people that had tried to visit her but they were quickly sent away with no comment. She wasn't that important of a news story since her capture and killing of Jones hadn't been made public yet.

"We now think you're one of the last people still alive that may have seen Vegeta." Piccolo said grimly. "We just need a statement about everything you talked about and whether he left any hints."

"I guess the video camera's captured my visit." Bulma sighed; her disguise hadn't been that great.

"There was no sound recorded." Piccolo said, frustrated at the incompetence that just kept on showing up the more he investigated. "The cameras that were installed were the original ones from the building. They hadn't even bothered to equip some extra ones when setting up Vegeta's prison cell."

"It was made at the last minute." Bulma said remembering how fast Vegeta had been moved from South City Asylum to the Court building in West City.

"Still no excuse." Piccolo said. "Although that's not your worry, Cadet Briefs. As of next month you'll be completing your graduation. Then I can finally call you Agent Briefs."

"It's got a neat ring to it." Bulma sighed complacently. She always had an issue with her name, but it seemed better with the Agent in front.

"You're one of the first to graduate without doing the hard obstacle course; we've passed you by your outstanding merits."

Bulma felt at least grateful for that. She doubted she would be fully healed to be able to do the final physical test. There was an awkward silence as Piccolo had run out of things to discuss.

"Sir, I need to know." Bulma said. "Is Warden Oolong among the missing?" She knew she hated the pig but she couldn't stand the thought that he was amongst the casualties.

"I'm afraid he's a missing person but he had survived the Court building incident." Piccolo said. "He's been on the run since Vegeta escaped and hasn't been heard of since."

"I see…" She said dully, there was nothing more to say.

"I also have a message from Elizabeth, to say thank you." Piccolo said. "She wants to come meet you with her family if possible. I said I would get your permission first."

Bulma had a vague memory of Elizabeth or Betty as she preferred to be called; screaming obesities at her. It would probably be nice to get a nicer memory of her.

"I can't see the harm, so long as they understood why I left Elizabeth in the hole for so long." Bulma said looking down. "I wouldn't want to be made to blame for anything. I did what I did for a good reason."

"I believe she has calmed down since then and has accepted all of your decisions." Piccolo said. "We managed to find her in time before the building got too badly burned. She was quite safe in the separate cellar room that she was in. As you know they will make their more public statement next week and they want to sing your praises."

"They really have to do that?" Bulma asked. "I was enjoying the peace and the lack of my name in the papers."

"I have informed them to keep the praise to a minimum." Piccolo said. "I honestly would have announced it along with the statement that Elizabeth had been found safe. It was thanks to you going in when you did that saved her. She was certain that he was getting ready to kill her when you interrupted."

"I guess." Bulma said, she was still unclear about how she had escaped the cellar. She had been enclosed in that small room, in the dark and with flames all around her. She had fainted from the venom and as far as she knew no-one knew she was in that exact place…unless Betty had told them. There were just too many holes and Bulma has spent many sleepless nights trying to figure it out.

"I'll leave you be." Piccolo said as he saw her going silent and thoughtful. "We'll need those reports by next week so take your time. You should be out of here by then."

"Trust me Director, I have a lot of time on my hands." Bulma said. "I'll contact the office when I've completed them."

The large man stood up and Bulma gave him a slight smile. She was still too weary to be really happy. It was times like these that she missed her parents. She would give anything to be annoyed by her mother again. To have her next to her fussing over her while her father would be nearby with his happy carefree way, probably playing with his cat and getting told off by the nurses for bringing the little guy in. Her friends from the Agency had been and given her support but it hadn't been the same. Even her roommate Launch had been kind to spend some time but everyone else were too busy with the final exams that she was gratefully skipping.

The Director left as she stayed silently thinking, she didn't even look up as he shut the door. Even when her friends had come Bulma had been too exhausted to be cheerful or even slightly social. She took a short glimpse at the papers. It was weird to see Vegeta's name in print. As far as the main press were concerned she hadn't been involved in anything. Next week there would be the press release that would sing her praises but Bulma wasn't looking forward to it. Her luck with the press had always been bad; they always seemed to just print what they wanted to help sell. Especially that low brow gossip types.

She sighed again and tried to rest. She didn't want to think about it but she was stuck in the bed looking at the walls and feeling really blue. There was another knock on the door and Bulma turned to see if it was another guest but noticed it was just the nurse and opted to save her stomach pain and stay still.

Her own thoughts were not really on graduation but just circling round the things that had happened in the last month. She slipped back down into her bed and let herself fall back into a deep sleep.

000

Bulma knew she was dreaming because she was back in that house. The basement lair of that thing. It was where she never wanted to return. She turned in the blurry surroundings as smoke filled the room. She knew where the exit was. She had imagined her last moments in this place over and over. She had stabbed that arachnid and set him on fire. She had thought of Elizabeth and how she had done something right for once. She had saved someone. She didn't regret anything. The ground became like thick tar grabbing at her feet holding her down as the smoke got thicker.

Bulma tumbled down as the tar began to cover her. It was slowly enveloping her and she accepted it as she felt herself getting more tired. She just wanted to leave, to wake up. This wasn't happening, not again. She wasn't dying in a tar pit in a fire in that basement. She could hear the high pitch squeal from the thing. It always upset her, she heard it every night. It was like the screams of the monkeys once more, her childhood torture coming back to taunt her.

"_You did seem to make a good job of this Cadet."_ A voice said to her in the darkness.

The voice blocked out the high pitched death call of Jones and she could see the silhouette of a man. Hands grabbed her and she was pulled up out of the goo. She rested her head her lungs burning because of the smoke. She couldn't breath the tar was covering her face. A hand wiped away the tar and she felt for a moment safe. Bulma knew she was being carried outside. This was what always upset her. This figure would appear and save her and she was sure it had to be a paramedic or another Agent. All until he wrapped his hands around her neck.

"_It would be so easy to kill you now and no-one would know."_

Bulma couldn't answer him but she looked up into the darkness. He seemed to be a cloud of smoke, she could never get a clear shot but she just knew and she would try to say the name that came to her lips. 'Vegeta…' It never came and she was left in the cold as the warm hands left her neck and she was lying on the wet grass. The wetness making her colder and she shivered as the sounds of sirens surrounded her.

000

The young girl woke up with a jerk from her dream. She had knocked over her water and the bed was soaked with cold ice water. Bulma pressed the button for the nurse and tried not to cry. It had to be a dream, he hadn't come for her. It was impossible. It was like the tar in her dream, just a symbol for something that she could write long essays about and get an A. However she was never telling this to a shrink. It would be just be too crazy. She had felt safe in his arms. He had been her Knight, her Prince that had come to save her. He was a killer, she knew that. Even her dream reminded her by making him threaten to kill her. Yet he had let her go. There was no way it happened like that. She looked across at her paperwork. She'd need to write it all down before the medication made her forget and turn it all into a muddled mess. She had to make sure she wrote down the reality and not the dream.

00

One Month Later

00

The Exams came and went and Bulma Briefs had managed to attend the last week of her training. It was now the time of Graduation and Bulma had to deal with another press interest in her. It had been small in comparison with what had happened with Prince Vegeta. It was really more interest in how Elizabeth had survived. The girl had managed to get some good counselling and was making some excellent progress. Bulma was in a way jealous, she wished she had the same done for herself but she was now far too twisted for that. She had her work to focus on. There were more cases turning up and now the whole of the planet were on the look out for the most notable refugee of them all. The Prince of All Saiyans. He was still at large and more disturbing was the amount of aliens that were now coming out of the woodwork and making the FBI a very much in demand service for the world.

Bulma adjusted her new suit and tried to give her best prayer to her parents. She looked over to her friends and especially Launch that sat next to her in the assembly hall.

"I guess we need to listen to the speech first." Bulma said. She hated being at the front but she was getting the honours awarded to her in the year. "I refused to give any."

"I think you should have Bulma, people really want to know what you think." Launch said. "You're getting the nickname, the Ice Princess."

"Well, that's better than the Princess of Saiyans." Bulma joked, the title had finally become one to her now. "I wouldn't know what to say in my speech other than, 'Sometimes you get lucky.'"

"If you say so." Launch said though she thought differently.

The Director stood up and he gave his speech. It was short, enough to let everyone know that they had done some good work. It moved so fast, Bulma was walking up as her name was announced first and she could hear the applause almost coming quite loudly from the men's side. Bulma tried not to make eye contact but the yelling from the male idiots in her class made her turn and give a little bow. She would have loved this treatment 5 years ago, now it was just annoying.

Bulma had only just sat down when a receptionist came over. "Agent Briefs, there's someone that would like to speak to you."

"Oh okay." Bulma said. She wondered if it was Betty, the girl had been an avid pen pal to her for the past month but her letters were slowing down. She had told her it was her graduation today, just for something to say. She didn't know if the girl genuinely wanted to keep in contact or if it was orders from her therapist.

The award ceremony continued and Bulma gave Launch a quick hand signal to let her know she was going out for a bit. She wasn't needed now other than the final photo shoot with the diploma. She followed the woman out to the reception area were the phone was being kept. Bulma took it into the room in case it was Betty. She wouldn't like to publically speak to the Mayor's daughter with all the people moving through the corridor.

"Hello, this is Agent Bulma Briefs."

"Indeed, it should be Agent Briefs now. Congratulations on your graduation."

Bulma froze as she heard the voice from her dreams. He was there in real life. It was him. "Vegeta?"

"So glad you remembered me." The Prince said.

"How could I ever forget?" Bulma's mind was racing; she needed to get a trace on this call. She needed to keep him talking.

"I wouldn't try anything, I have an encrypted line… it would take you far too long and I only wanted to say something quickly." Vegeta said, quieting down her need to get help.

"Then tell me." Bulma said.

"I was going to say that I was so proud of your efforts." Vegeta purred, his voice was so smooth but it had that dark undertone. "I did think you would die from the creature's bite but your weak human body did seem to come through after all."

"I got better."

"Indeed, I also wanted to mention that now you're a full fledged Agent don't bother coming after me." Vegeta said his voice was now becoming much deeper and threatening. "I would kill you if it ever came of it."

"I know that." Bulma said. "I will only follow what orders I'm given so I can't make any promise."

"We really are similar." Vegeta laughed. "I wonder if you'll ever get to break out of your little dog kennel? It is of no matter, I am quite far away and I have no intention of coming for you."

"I feel relieved I guess." Bulma said. Her legs were like jelly, she knew she would have to keep him talking, maybe get some information from him. Everytime he spoke she remembered all her dreams and nightmares that she had been slowly sealing away in her mind.

"You should be, I had many an opportunity to kill you but it seems more fun having you in this world." Vegeta said. "Now please excuse me, I have to meet an old friend for dinner."

The line went dead and Bulma quickly went through to the telephone operators. "Any way to trace this call?"

"No, we'd need to get the records; you'll need to go to a different department." The receptionist answered.

Bulma cursed and she headed back to the Assembly room. She wasn't in any mood to deal with this. It was going to be her day today, she was graduating and getting made Honour Valedictorian, not that she took that offer up. This was her day, not Vegeta's but in one foul swoop of a phone call he'd turned it all around. She made her way through to the front row of seats and to the one person that needed to know now.

"Sir." Bulma said quietly to her Director. "I think I have something I need to discuss. It's him."

000

Vegeta hung up the phone. It was quite hot in the jungles and his new suit was getting stained. It had seemed like a necessary thing to do, the little girl was a hidden tiger. It was still unbelievable she had managed to take down that arachnid. He would be sorry to see her skills go to waste if she ever tried to fight him. He was no easy push over as that 'Jones' was, even as depowered as he was he had decades of experience. He was born to be a warrior, a hunter.

"What do you mean there are no more car capsules?" An angry pig ranted. "I want transport to the local hotel and you primitive people have no buses!"

"We have these bike capsules."

"Fine fine, that'll do." Oolong snapped and handed over his money. He glanced around the crowd, not wanting to make a scene. He never saw the short man in the back with the blond hair and the fine white suit. He looked like some tourist and Oolong just blanked him out. He wasn't what he wanted to be afraid of.

It would be a great mistake to think that, but for Oolong it was already too late.

000

Author's Note: Well here's my conclusion to this arc. Yes, I am continuing and I will just continue from this story and not make a new one. It seems a lot easier than having two separate stories. Plus if I go by the way the next book was worded the next story would be called "Vegeta". I don't think that would pull in anyone since how many fanfics are there that are probably called that? I'm guessing hundreds so I will just stick with updating a new arc on the end of this.

If anyone knows the books they'll understand where this is heading and my no romance words could be eaten but do you really think of Hannibal and Clarice as romantic? I'll just go along with there will be a far darker attraction and that will not be happening until much further on in the next arc. You all know it will be coming but I'll decide if I want it to go the movie way or the book. Add your thoughts if you like; I'm always looking for input.


	16. 3 Year Gap

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal . I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter 16

3 Year Gap

Three years have past since Bulma Briefs had graduated. Three very hard and long years and Bulma had kept her nickname of Ice Princess. Though some people seemed to refer to her as Ice Queen sometimes just because she had now grown in the few years to her mid-twenties and she was now a very beautiful woman if a little hard to approach. Bulma didn't really acknowledge it though as her main duties kept her so busy to date anyone. It just added more ammunition to her now popular name. She had been in some important missions to help subdue the increasing discovery of alien immigrants. Most were kept secret from the community and especially monitored by the FBI. These were the peaceful ones, or ones that had technical knowledge that could be bought and sold.

The world was now changed from when Scalpel Jones had been captured. The death of the alien had been the final brick holding back the dam of escapees. From what the FBI had discovered from their interviews. There was something out in the Universe that was worse than any Saiyan and more powerful than they could conceive. It was a waiting game to see if this being would ever appear but for now Earth was too far away and safe. It had become a refuge, its resources too few to be of any interest and too far from the main Warzone to be of any strategic advantage. These aliens were not just immigrants they were refugees.

Bulma still had no time for them; but they were not to be judged by her but by the system. She worried that the incoming populous would be a red flag to this mysterious Emperor that they feared. It wasn't far from the truth there had been too many close times when some dangerous aliens had come. They were almost on the same level of the Saiyans and thanks to their experience of capturing Prince Vegeta they had the technology now to fight them. Even though the general public were unaware of the new creatures joining their world, the leaders knew and they had the one main pressure that they kept hitting the FBI with.

Vegeta was still missing; the only lead had been that phone call Bulma had received at her graduation. It had lead to the jungles in the far south. It had been there that they had found Oolong, or what had remained of him. The fact that he had been found with an apple in his mouth and on a spit had been repulsive to her at the time. Now Bulma could see the humour in such a thing. She had become so much more jaded by the three years of FBI service. She missed her old carefree self sometimes. She had been happier before, with a much stronger will to entertain the boys and flirt when she wanted to get her way.

"Agent Briefs!" Bulma was knocked out of her nostalgia trip and looked up to see a young Cadet speaking to her. "You've been asked to Director Piccolo's office."

"Thanks." Bulma said, he looked so fresh faced and eager. It was such a distant feeling to her now. She had been waiting in the room for a while and she figured she was just getting too deep in her thoughts. She tried to shake her self out of it and picked up her report and went through to the office. She watched the young nameless recruit return back to his duties. He'd obviously just been in for a briefing, much like she had been three years ago. They had sent her on a mission that she thought was just a standard task that was too menial for the higher ranks to do. She sometimes wondered if she hadn't been sent that time to Vegeta, if it had been anyone else, if they would react the same way to him as she had. She wasn't sure if she would be in the same dark place as she was now. If she had just completed her training like all the rest and hadn't fought the killer Jones. She may have had one less scar across her heart.

She entered the office and the tall green man rose to greet her.

"Take a seat, Bulma." He said. "We have an old friend of yours up to no good again."

"Who?" Bulma asked she knew that when Director Piccolo called someone her friend it meant someone she'd arrested in a big case.

"This time is Sable Biscotte, she's on the loose again."

"Oh her." Bulma said, she knew the alien well, she'd arrested her a few times but it was always minor offences. It wasn't the main worry though. It was her blood. "Why do you need me? I'm not in Immigration."

"This time she's dealing with illegal substances, we need to catch her in the act and get her the full prosecution she deserves." Piccolo said. "We can't deport her to the Space station again; she just finds a way to escape."

"How big of a team? Am I in charge this time?" Bulma asked eagerly, there was a chance, maybe this time she could be Team leader.

"No, you're set as Advisor for the Team, your knowledge and run-ins with Biscotte will be what gives us the edge." Piccolo explained. "It's under the jurisdiction of Narcotics division I have no say."

"I guess the murders by aliens have thankfully been quite sparse lately." Bulma said, she hadn't had any missions for a while. She tried to hide her disappointment. She had never been made a Team Leader for any of her missions, even though she had been in the Bureau for three years with commendable arrests and take-downs.

"For now, we still have a few missing aliens to try to track down." Piccolo said. "The main being the Prince."

Bulma didn't answer; she knew exactly who he meant. Vegeta's escape was the heavy weight that hung over the Bureau and kept their reputation low in the public's eye. The only thing that the FBI was known for being around was just to capture Vegeta. It was now so bad he was only referred to as "The Prince", new recruits were starting to just call Vegeta, "Him". Bulma didn't see the point, he wasn't a mythical beast, he had been captured before and he will again. It was all a matter of catching him off guard.

Piccolo handed her a file of papers. "This is the case file." He said. "You are to meet with Agent Tao tomorrow."

Bulma bit her lip, she knew the name well. He had been in charge of a few of her missions and always had given a negative report about her. It was as if he had something against her but she'd never taken the time to confront him. She inwardly wished this time she could find out why he had such a stick up his ass about her. She flipped open the file and took a glance. Biscotte's face was at the front, if apart from the red skin colour she could have been mistaken as a human.

"I will do my best." Bulma said. "She never goes down without a big fight."

"Exactly why we need you on this case." Piccolo sighed. "We've had two agents that were on surveillance of Biscotte go missing, we have no proof that she's involved but I think this time the alien is up to her neck in trouble."

"Well I will read this up and meet with Agent Tao tomorrow." Bulma said. "Biscotte is a lose cannon and we can't really judge her actions. I'll try to advise them as much as I can but I can't guarantee."

"I know you're the best Bulma, I hope this mission proves it and gives you that promotion you deserve."

"Thanks Sir." Bulma stood up and took her leave. It was a chance she supposed but she wasn't going to put her hopes on it. Director Piccolo had been helping her for the last three years and she was still being held back. All she could really do was hope and pray that she could have Biscotte behind bars before any real damage could be done. She may not be a power house type but she was unstable and very deadly when she wanted to be.

000

In a darken room a husk of a man awoke to the sound of his personal nurse and secretary.

"Sir, the person you requested has come." She said gently as she opened the curtains enough for the light to come in but not reach the bed.

"Show him in…" The man gasped. His voice was harsh and wispy as he struggled to breath; to speak was a battle everyday and he tried to keep it short and to the point. His life was a sliver of what it had been but he still lived. The anger and raw need for revenge was what kept him alive. The more he stayed in the dark room with such limited view the more twisted and demented towards his goals he became. There was only one thing left for him and he wanted it done before he could give out his last pathetic breath. He wanted the Prince of all Saiyans to die.

"Sir, is this okay to enter?" The kind man asked as he entered. "I can wait if you like."

"No… STAY!" He ordered. "I want to… talk!"

"This is Mr Popo, he came with the items you asked about." The nurse explained. "Dr Gero you should rest and not exert yourself anymore."

"Shut-UP! One ear Marron, useless…we-n*cough* " He gasped and wheezed as he tried to sit up but he started having a coughing fit.

Nurse Marron squealed, she had been under his service for a year now and she feared everything about him. She hurried to his side and put an oxygen mask to his face. She needed to calm him down and get him breathing. Dr Gero's face was half eroded and seemed to have melted. In the light it was hard to look upon. It was made worse by the words of bile that always seemed to come out of him. The only thing he had was money. It was what kept the people loyal to him.

Mr Popo looked on silently he had never met such a worst case of twisted body and mind. He was a survivor of Prince Vegeta. He had lived where others had died. It seemed only like some cruel joke that Vegeta had let this mad scientist live. He had once been in charge of a whole science division in an army that was on the verge of conquest when the Saiyans attacked. It had been the correct thing at the time for the Red Army to try to form an alliance with the leader of the Saiyans. It had ended in such a pitiful way that only Gero was left out of all the army.

"Bring the items here…" Gero said in a weak voice.

"I hope you're able to pay in cash as you said." Mr Popo said. He carefully placed his bag on the bed and took out what seemed like a mask. "This was used to restrain Vegeta; it was one of the last items he wore when he was transferred to the Cell in West City."

A shaking hand grasped onto it and a gurgle could be heard. It was a laugh. "So this was on his face…" Gero sighed. "Marron…. Do you recognise it?"

Marron nodded her head. It was used after Vegeta had bitten her. She knew why she had this job; Dr Gero used his money to collect things related to Vegeta. Those things sometimes included people too.

"Well… SPEAK!"

"It's the same mask!" Marron squeaked.

"I could pay you to help me here…Popo" Gero said to Mr Popo. "I need more strong men like you with medical knowledge…this wench is useless, I have no idea how she even passed her medical training, probably her good looks, not that she's got that now." He gave another gurgled laugh. Marron put the gas mask over his face to shut him up and she turned her head.

"I do have college fees to pay." Mr Popo said. "This is why I do this black market stuff. A man needs some money."

"Money is what…has made me LIVE!" Gero laughed pulling the mask off and shooing Marron away. "Money can bring me anything… except HIM; I can't buy Vegeta but I can get close… I feel it I am so close!" He rubbed his hand over the mask as if to see if he could feel any vibration from the Prince.

"Show me… what else…."

"I have his ki handcuffs, they are so strong that they can even weaken a normal human so I don't advice you to touch them." Mr Popo said. "It's look at only."

"I see, fine, fine, bring the suitcase of money I had prepared Marron."

The nurse hurried to the side of the dresser where a silver suitcase had been placed.

"So will you work for me?" Gero asked.

"I'll consider it Sir." Mr Popo said. He kept his eye on the suitcase, this felt so wrong to him being in this room with this twisted monster. It wasn't human anymore; it was only a buckled body with a single objective. "I am surprised at seeing Nurse Marron here but I can understand why. It's the same reason you want me."

"Yes, you have lived after touching the Prince, why did he not come after you like he did for Oolong?" Gero snarled.

"Maybe I was inconsequential to him." Mr Popo shrugged. He could guess the true answer but he didn't want to give Gero anything more without more money.

"Why did he not go after his woman?"

"You mean Bulma Briefs?" Mr Popo said amazed. "I never saw anything romantic between them, no matter what the newspapers make out; she was professional all the way."

Gero snorted, he had hoped for some gossip about the one that still eluded his requests to come. All she had sent back were official "no comment" like statements with her precious FBI signatures and authoritative requests to no longer contact her unless there were any leads to the capture of Prince Vegeta. It was such a waste of his time; the stuck-up bitch wanted nothing to do with him.

"I do believe that Prince Vegeta did see something in her, he spoke with her much more than any other visitor." Popo said. "I have some video recordings of their meetings but it sadly did not come with sound. There were some sound recordings made but I think Warden Oolong had them and had taken them with him. They are most likely lost or destroyed now."

Dr Gero nodded and grunted his understanding he made a hand movement to continue. He was getting tired from this meeting but he couldn't stop from listening.

"I'm not sure what else to say Sir." Mr Popo said. "Bulma Briefs is not in league with Vegeta; she looked to me like the kind that stuck to the books, though I was surprised at her breaking into the courtroom cell to talk with Vegeta. I guess going undercover was part of her job too. I respect Miss Briefs she stood up to him and he didn't look down at her for it. He seemed to respect her; he even killed someone that tried to mess with her."

Gero moved to look directly at Mr Popo. "Go…On…"

"The person next to his cell; he threw some fecal matter and spit at her; the next day Vegeta had used his influence on him to make him kill himself. We still have no idea how he did it."

"Interesting… so he will kill for her…" Gero slumped down. An idea was forming in his head. "I will… buy those tapes… speak with my secretary… about contacting… me later… now I must rest…. And think."

Mr Popo picked up the suitcase and placed it in his plain shopping bag. He felt like he'd said too much. He was feeling dirty but as Dr Gero said, money was everything and he was desperate for money. It just made him feel sorry for Miss Briefs. Something had been started here in this room and he felt it held nothing good for someone that had always been nice and polite to him. He looked at the familiar face of Nurse Marron as she led him out. She looked very similar to Bulma Briefs but there were obvious differences in her attitude and smile. She now had her hair in a straight bob covering her ears, her eyes seemed dead and afraid compared to how she had been. The vague happy innocent eyes and smile were gone forever. He had been there at the time when he pulled Vegeta off her. She had screamed and cried so much she was given sedatives to calm down. She had left the Asylum soon after Vegeta's escape in some sort of self aware fear that she would be next after Oolong but Vegeta never came for her. He never expected her to return to nursing and in such a prominent placement. He had to assume that she had been paid quite a lot for this job. He was tempted to ask but he could see from her silence at leading him out that she was too shaken for too overly familiar talk. She was no longer the bubble head she had been.

"Thank you Nurse Marron." He said.

She only smiled and said goodbye handing him a business card to call later. That girl had completely changed. In a way it made him nostalgic to see Bulma Briefs to see how much she had changed as well. He shook his head and thought better of it. He wouldn't think he would be so welcome to the girl he had barely spoken too. The link of the Prince was all they had in common and he doubted she'd like to reminisce on those nightmare days. It was the same for Marron she was so eager to see him out and gone. Though the girl working for such a man as Dr Gero he shuddered to think what kind of nightmares she relived everyday thanks to that man's obsession.

Mr Popo looked back at the large mansion and wished to never see it again. It was something out of a horror movie and he didn't dare look back in case something came out to drag him back in. Dr Gero seemed harmless enough, he was only a cripple now with no face and barely any life left in him. Yet as Mr Popo walked away he couldn't help shaking the feeling that he had said far too much.

000

Far away from any crooked mansion and FBI headquarters; in the north of the country where every winter is harsh and the summer is mild. The number one wanted Alien of Planet Earth was sitting down to lunch. It was a basic workman's lunch that he'd prepared himself. A nice chunky sandwich with large quantities of meat. The Docks were busy with other forklift truck drivers all taking their lunch break. The shorter but muscular Saiyan seemed to have found a place that he could stay undetected. He had an odd habit of always wearing a hat to control his short spiky hair, but no one really questioned it. He worked hard and kept quiet so no-one really bothered him unless it was Foreman Shanks.

"Hey Yasai!"

The Saiyan cocked his head slightly annoyed at the lunch time interruption. "What is it?"

"We still haven't found Bernard!" The Foreman shouted. "Did you see him at all yesterday?"

"No it was my day off. I was off hiking that day in the mountains," Yasai Hoang smirked. "I don't associate myself with losers like Bernard who has to have more than one woman."

"Ah c'mon ye're just jealous." Shanks joked. "It's a dream to have two at a time."

Vegeta was offended by that so called joke but laughed at it anyway. "Maybe so, but I think one is enough, all that nagging in stereo… no thanks."

"Ah so true," Shanks chuckled unable to see through the fake laughter from his underling. "I'll let you to your lunch, big as always."

"I have more appetite for food than women." Yasai said. He took an another bite out of his sandwich to hope his Supervisor got the hint.

The foreman walked off to speak to the other men and Vegeta was finally left in peace. It was such a stupid pun of a name Yasai Hoang but for some reason it was common in the north so he fitted in with no problems. The whole city was full of yokel men and women that were simple minded and never questioned anything. Even when some odd people went missing it could be attributed to some bad hiking decisions gone wrong. For now it was perfect before he needed to move on again. Just a few more months training and his next stage would be complete.

He bit hungrily into his Bernard sandwich and wished he could bring a larger lunch box but that would attract more attention than necessary. This human survive game would soon but over and his next trip home would come. The world had become such an interesting place in his three years of freedom. He looked down at a newspaper that had the latest mysterious crime horror stories that were causing more tension in this world. The strange increase of technology the world had leapt to in 3 years was incredible and could only be because of one thing. It had to be some sort of Alien stolen technology. It wouldn't be long till Space technology was on par to what Vegeta was used to. Not that any of the workers knew he was an alien. For all they knew he was just some unlucky guy that had come up from South City looking to start a new life. It was true the best lies were ones that came from a sliver of truth.

It was all a matter of lying low and biding his time. It was something he had become quite scarily good at and it surprised him as well. The truth of all animal's instinct that when cornered the survival instincts kick in and Vegeta's pride had been swallowed for the most part, for the very fact of surviving. Although, he had to let off steam sometimes and unfortunately when some people witnessed something they shouldn't then they just had to meet a very delicious end. Vegeta let out a small laugh to himself and lifted the paper to read the latest gossip. If you could read between the lines there were always some very interesting things to read.

000

* * *

Author's Note: Yeah the FBI have become more like the MIB that I had originally imagined them as! (I have only watched the first movie; please do that instead of watching the latest one!)

This chapter is mainly set up which is probably quite hard to write and maybe a bit boring. I hope you guys enjoyed it and if you've noticed that we're now in Hannibal story mode. How it ends will be up to me as I really don't want this to be a main focus of romance. I wanted to write something that had some sexual tension and a bit of a horror theme that I feel Bulma and Vegeta seem to pull off really well in a dark situation.

There's a hanging question of why Gero hasn't made an android body for himself, but that shall be answered in future chapters.

As usual if you notice any grammar or spelling errors, please let me know! I have yet to find a beta reader that can put up with my inconsistent writing style. (As in one chapter a year!)

Thanks to the people that have continued reading this and hello to newcomers. I hope you have enjoyed! I shall try to continue as best as I can!


	17. Preperation Time

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. I do not make money from this story.

Chapter 17

Preparation Time

Another morning had come to the FBI headquarters and Bulma Briefs made her way into the familiar building. She flashed her card at the Guard on duty who made a polite bow to her and she walked onto the elevator without even giving him a glance. This was her territory. She knew these floors like the back of her hand. She nodded to a few of her fellow agents and stood in the elevator. She wasn't overly excited about her current mission but she knew she had to keep her temper. She didn't have time to throw a tantrum over being placed in such a low position after so long in service and so many arrests under her belt.

She kept her case file close to her chest, it was her own work and not something she wanted to show, not yet anyway. She was to give a presentation about the Suspect in the prepping meeting. It wasn't much that she was on duty as a character evaluation for the suspect. She knew Special Agent Tao didn't like her and always made an effort to give her the worst feedback report.

She saw him entering the meeting room and he just gave her a sideways glance and continued into the room. He didn't seem to want to even greet her. She followed in after him and was met by the others on the team. They seemed friendlier to her and she was quickly making introductions to everyone. She sat down at the front of the meeting desk near the computer. She quickly uploaded her files and prepared her slides while Tao had a loud conversation to his subordinate.

"We're sure there are only one female on this team it's probably for the best for you." He said to the tall man with dark hair.

"Sir, I'll be fine I was in the same graduation team as Agent Briefs."

Bulma glanced up to see it was a familiar face, Yellow Belly was his nickname but she blanked at his real name. He caught her looking at him and he tried to smile at her but his eyes suddenly turned away and he looked down at the ground. At least it was an improvement from when she knew him as a Cadet. He would always have to leave the room when a girl was present or he would choose the furthest seat from any girl. She could tell this was what Tao was talking to him about, she just wished she remembered his name.

A faint part of her wondered if anyone else had the same trouble, her own nickname was so enforced in people's memories that sometimes people forgot her own name. She was the Ice Princess to new person she met or rather her old nickname the Princess of Saiyans. She was grateful that the previous name had died down and the Ice one was more popular.

"Well now Agent Briefs has graced us with her presence we can begin." Special Agent Tao said.

Bulma glanced at the clock she was two minutes early, it was just after nine twenty-five and she was sure the meeting was arranged for half past. She bit her tongue and just smiled while placing her paperwork on the table in front of her.

"Quick round of name call for this team, I am as you know Special Agent Tao, in charge of illegal alien substance division. This is Agent Yamcha Mein, he's my second in command. We all know Agent Briefs; she is assigned to give us character background on our target. She's more use to homicide but seems they have been a little sparse of late."

There was a nervous giggle in the group. They weren't sure if that was a compliment or an insult. Bulma knew which and just kept her fake smile.

"For tech we have Agent Cello, also Agent Viola. We're sure for them to be able to help with all surveillance." Tao continued. "Agent Jaffa will lead any arrest and Agent Hobs is here for medical. There's a special reason as to this which is because of Biscotti."

He gave Bulma a raised eyebrow and pointed at her paperwork. "If you please Agent Briefs, let us hear everything about this alien female."

"She's been associated with a number of homicide cases of late but she's only been an accessory to the crime and let off with warnings." Bulma switched on the computer screen and booted up her power point. If she had known she was going to be given no preparation time she would have come sooner. The picture of Biscotti was up and the others were greeted with a red faced woman with white hair.

"Her species is humanoid and has blended well into the populace but there's been some concerns of late because of her blood. She's got a dangerous spawning ability and it can lead to some dangerous lung infections if breathed in. She's able to release some sort of spore that on her home planet would be like a mating call but for us it's been something we've needed to put an injunction on her for. She's legally not allowed to do this act but she is still capable of doing so even with a special collar placed on her. In a close range she could be a biohazard to the public and agents. She's not to be taken lightly. Each time she's been arrested she's been with child and been highly protective of her offspring. She will use any means necessary to try to escape and will not see anything wrong with using her hidden ability as a weapon. Biscotti has got a bad habit of keeping bad company and they're usually murderers and thieves on our top ten list."

"What like the Prince?" An agent whispered.

Bulma continued as she tried to ignore the snide remark. "If a push comes I'd like to be the negotiator with Biscotti, she knows me and is less likely to attack. If anything she'll think she can make a deal out of the situation. As far as I can tell she's got no idea of how much trouble is too much. She's one of the refugees that we have no place to send. If anything a peaceful takedown will be the best we can hope for."

"Thank you Agent Briefs. I will let you know closer to the time if you'll be the negotiator but first let us try to work with what we have." Special Agent Tao said.

Bulma nodded and sat down. She pulled out her hand out sheets of the summary of her report. There was more she wanted to say but she was unsure herself of what the real task was. She passed out her notes and Tao continued with the facts of the matter.

"Biscotti is up to her eyeballs in trouble." Special Agent Tao said. "Her new lover is a drug trafficker and is getting Biscotti to do the dirty work and being his main dealer; but we want to know how deep it goes. This suspect has got let off before because she claimed innocence to any knowledge of wrong doing, we want to get the facts on her before making the bust. She has to go down for this one, this is her last chance. We need to go into surveillance and get the evidence before we bring them and this drug ring down. The evidence we have just now are all circumstantial and rumours, we have nothing concrete that will stand in court. Biscotti could escape again if we come down on her now."

"We will all assemble today at 1500 hours in West City Docks." Yamcha said bringing up the map of the area. "We will go in separate teams to the meeting area and set up our surveillance there."

Bulma looked on the board to see the team placement, it all seemed to be set up fine. She just wondered if it was going to go as well as she liked. If she managed to get this job done she might even get Tao on her side for once. She couldn't let her temper show. This could be her chance for her promotion.

000

Far off from West City in the Southern islands a large island was covered in security and didn't even let a fishing boat near the shore. This was the land that belonged to Dr Gero. It was his haven and no-one could come without his permission.

Dr Gero's Estate was vast and covered hundreds of acres. His own personal house was at the front and gave easy access for his many doctors and nurses that came in to help keep him alive. His surviving business that he had made from the remains of the Red Ribbon Army was now a giant industry that leads the technological world. It had totally out shone the failing Capsule Corp which had gone bankrupt a long time ago. There was a gap in the market and he had taken in the shares and the sold technology. It was worth it as all the profits fell into his medical care and his plans for revenge.

At the back of the huge estate was the research for his plotting revenge. The previous time his army had fought Vegeta it was a complete joke. His Androids had been destroyed in mere seconds by Vegeta and his men. It had taken his best Android to destroy the weakest one but it had not been enough. The Prince had selected such suitable revenge for the death of one of his men. Gero had been ripped of his spine. His skin peeled off in the slowest way possible. All the while Vegeta just kept him alive for days as if he had all the time in the world. He had been humiliated constantly jibed for being such a snivelling weak man. The memories of that time haunted him and he knew he had to recreate his androids. He had to recreate his own body but not yet. He needed to know that Vegeta could be defeated. It was the only way he could be satisfied in a new body. He wanted to be able to make the final blow, to make Vegeta suffer as long as he has. It would be more than days though; it would be day by day, year by year of every single gasping hour Gero had lived past his intended death. He would keep Vegeta alive and suffering for a complete tit-for-tat for the same amount of time and more.

The most difficult part was capturing the Saiyan but before that Gero made his plans and his machines of intended revenge. They would be perfect, they would be monsters. Just as cruel and inhuman as the Saiyan. The Androids that he would create next would be brainless machines with only one thing on their mind. To capture and incapacitate the Prince so his new tortured life could begin.

The field was covered by trees and fenced off. In the centre was a dummy with strangely familiar hair. Gero was pushed up to his observation deck next to the field and watched as two boxes were wheeled in. As he found it hard to speak with such a scarred face he made a weak hand signal to let the men continue. Nurse Marron fussed around him to make sure he was in a stable condition. He was a walking open wound and being outside was dangerous for him. She secured the tent that covered him and protected him from the sun and falling debris that could fall onto his exposed flesh.

He hissed at her as she prodded him too much and she backed away with a yelp. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He gave a glance to the guard who motioned to the scientist. The man stepped forward.

"We have done everything you stipulated Sir." Dr Frappe said. "I didn't think it was possible, but your calculations were impeccable and seems to have done as you said it would."

"Of course." Gero coughed. "Just let me watch my creations that you made with your hands."

"These two are made to be the ultimate killers." Dr Frappe fiddled with the tall boxes to open them up. "All memories and feelings have been erased and they only care about making people scream."

"Good." Gero said, if he had lips he would be smiling. "I really want them to torture our target, the screams will be a melody of my own pent up rage."

"They can do that fine…" Dr Frappe said moving quickly out of the enclosure. "I have some pigs for our practise."

"I can't scream like I used to." He said with his husky voice. "I want to hear others scream for me."

Dr Frappe had nothing to add to that, he was used to the sort of dialogue with his employer so he moved on to demonstrate his new creations. He made a motion to his assistants who were standing next to some grey boxes. They nodded their understanding and began to open the boxes, gas released into the air as the pressure was released. Two forms stepped forward out of the gas. They looked like ordinary teenagers. Their eyes were different though. They had a cool icy glare and seemed completely expressionless.

Gero coughed a laugh. He was pleased with the results and now he just needed to see them in action. He motioned to Frappe and he commenced with the tests. The wild pigs were released and ran around in the pen unsure what to do with their sudden freedom. The two figures watched silently until they heard the start of the classical music. They started to blur as they quickly went after each pig, pinning it down and slowly ripping its limbs off in time with the music.

The screams that called out where like music to Gero's ears and he started to hum along to the tune that was in his head. It looked like his creations were a complete success, now all he needed to do was find the prey. Though with that it seemed he would need some bait. Though they did not seem to be completely perfect. They needed to prolong the kills more. He would need to see more print outs, they needed to be machines. They needed no emotions at all apart from inheriting his thirst for revenge. It would take more time but he could wait.

00

Deep in the Northern Mountains a large animal roared out in defeat as a punch from a small human landed on his jaw and dislocated his head from his spine. The giant beast let out another large roar but it was in anguish as it died. The man stood over it panting but with a accomplished smile on his face.

Vegeta sighed as he breathed in the fresh mountain air. It was something that was good about the North city. It was so close to the mountains and just as remote that it was rare that there were any visitors or new people. Vegeta in his own way enjoyed the physical work of the docks, though he had to use forklifts when he knew he could lift them easily by hand at his full power. The thing was he still wasn't at full power and he didn't dare push himself to set off any alarms. He knew that the FBI had him as their number one target and they would be on the look out for any large energy signals. They could have scanner technology by now, he couldn't chance setting it off. He had to keep it suppressed and only released during his walks to the mountains. The one good thing about the planet was that there were lots of strange creatures for him to take out any of his frustrations. The large beasts were never really a challenge but at him suppressed power level he felt a thrill from fighting them.

He gave a low kick to the defeated bear that seemed to have thought he could take him on. These creatures never did learn, then again he never left any survivors to learn from their mistake at taking on the Prince. This left him to hazily think of his only survivor that he had left, the human woman Bulma. It was still a mystery to him why he hadn't killed her yet. He had his chances, quite a few to be honest. She let her guard down too easily. Almost all of the people he had interacted with since his incarceration were now dead except her and that strange large man Popo. There was one other which he sort of wished he had killed but it just seemed to add to the fun. For one it would have been a waste, she had been one of the few to have called him by his correct title. She also reminded him of what he could never return to being. She was a dog for that military organisation, just as he was for Freeza. Though with the death of "Jones" as he had been called had sealed his own fate with Freeza. He was now an abandoned solider to the Freezer Army. That creature Jones was a minor creature for a minor threat. He wasn't worth it in Freeza's eyes and he never would be. That would be the monsters undoing and Vegeta would see to that. His goals were too far off now. He looked down at his pathetically weakened fist. He couldn't even create a blast to destroy the bear that had tried to attack him. The body would just have to be left to be consumed. He pulled out a hunting knife and set to work. This was what he lived for, just a body at a time. All creatures that opposed him would be cut down, he just knew it would be a long fight ahead.

Little did Vegeta know that those very survivors he gave a passing thought to as he cut his prey; would soon come for him and make his current mundane life very interesting.

0000

Author's Note: Yes, Yellow Belly which was a character mentioned all those chapters ago vaguely by Launch and Bulma was actually Yamcha. I did have plans to have him have more parts earlier but I wrote it out as it didn't fit with the mood. If anyone's curious I can post a short summary next chapter but it's not really important to the main story; which is slowly getting there though it's still frustratingly set in three parts.

More on Bulma's part next chapter.


	18. Miscalculations

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. I do not make money from this story.

There are some scenes of violence in this chapter.

Chapter 18

Miscalculations

In the early morning Bulma Briefs arrived to her meeting point and with a slight feeling of unease. She was with a team that she didn't know that well and she was under orders of Tao, someone who clearly just saw her as an accessory to the assignment. She had her regulation gun in her holster and was in just normal jeans and a jacket to hide the gun. She wasn't dressed up, she had herself looking as plain as possible, no make-up, nothing that would stand out. She felt slightly unsure about her hair colour but she just put on a cap to hide the full effect of her colourful hair. It made her a liability in an under cover mission like this.

She saw the van pull over; it had the blackened windows and an advertisement for a plumber on the side. The door slid open and Yamcha greeted her with a red face. He stuttered a "Y-Yo!" and she just nodded and stepped in. The others in the van had their heads down silent. Special Agent Tao was to be in the other vehicle but Bulma could already feel the tension that had been in the meeting. The men in the van were all trained and under the command of Tao. It was clear to Bulma how much distrust they had for the girl Agent from the other department.

The radio cackled and spluttered and Tao's voice could be heard coming over it. _"Is everyone accounted for?"_

Yamcha grabbed the radio and turned his back to Bulma. Somehow his stuttering voice went away and he replied clearly to his superior. "Yes sir, all present in Van B."

"_We'll be arriving soon, Agent Briefs, Agent Jaffa and yourself are to go out in the field, The rest will remain in position in the van."_ Tao said. _"My agents will be accompanying me on Van A. We will be doing the main arrest so be sure to just remain as back-up. I want no heroics from Agent Briefs especially."_

"Understood Sir."

"_Over and out."_

Yamcha turned back to Bulma and his face reddened. "A-Agent Briefs, if-if it's okay… you should be-be at the front."

"But, we're to hold back." Bulma said. She was feeling a little angered at what Tao had said, he was singling her out again, like the bully he was.

"I meant that you should be at the front of the back-up, you know our target well and I want you to be giving feedback to the tech guys in our van." As Yamcha said that one of the tech guys, Agent Cello started pulling out the equipment to attach to all the members going out on the field. "Be sure to keep visual contact of Biscotti, you're our link to what she could be thinking or going to do next."

"She's a hard one to predict but I'll try." Bulma said. Yamcha was starting to loose his stutter now he was going into his work mode. For Bulma it was making him look less than the wimp she used to know from their student days.

"I-I think T-Tao is wrong ab-bout you and that y-you can do a g-good job."

Bulma sighed, she'd thought too soon.

The van pulled into the Dock area and they parked up in a small alley for them all to get out and move into their positions as unnoticed as possible. Everyone had hidden earphones and radio contact was to be at a limit. Bulma made her way into the crowds of the morning market and tried to find her way to her position at Dock 21. The instructions of other people reaching their points came over the radio and she could only nod her head as she got into her own. She took out her phone and made a fake call.

"Hey, sorry I need to leave a message. I made it to the docks, just need to wait for you now." She pressed the button to pretend to hang up and looked across at her target. The red skin of Biscotti stood out, she wore a thin tanktop even though it was the middle of winter. Her species didn't feel the cold. She was sure brave showing off her skin colour but it seemed like everyone around the docks didn't even stare. There were some strange races in her world and somehow the aliens always seemed to fit right in. They would always say they were from some rare race from a far corner of the world.

'Humans are so easily fooled by the lies.' Bulma mused and tried to shake herself from her inner thinking. Now was not the time for her theology, she needed to keep her vigil. She spotted some other team members getting into their positions. She looked back to Biscotti she was busy talking to someone from her group. She seemed relaxed and comfortable as she kept talking to the group she was with. Some notes of paper seemed to be handed out and Biscotti seemed to be counting.

'_The deal is going down.'_ A message came through her ear piece. "_Stay alert, we're going for the arrest after the exchange has taken place."_

Bulma kept her eyes down as she fiddled with her phone and tried to not seem like she was watching. All the other agents would be circling. She just had to hold her position. Biscotti seemed calm and unaware of the snare that was slowly circling. It was almost too easy. Bulma wondered what happened to the paranoid alien from a few years ago. She glanced over and saw the large bag on her back. It looked a little strange. 'Why does she need that for her dealing?' She wondered but as Bulma looked further it started to make sense. That wasn't a bag… it was a larva… it was a baby!

Bulma crouched down and spoke into her communicator. "There's a child with her, this race keep their infants in a cocoon… it's on her back!"

'_Stay in position Agent Briefs.'_

Bulma gritted her teeth as her stomach began to clench as the bad feeling settled in further. This wasn't good; Biscotti would protect the child if they did anything. She had written it up in her notes but had they not known about it? Should she have pushed more to get everyone to understand this felon's personality? She could turn into a type of Momma Bear without any warning and go into a frenzy.

Biscotti was still continuing with her deal and seemed to be handing over a package of something, most probably the drug they were after.

She tried again. "I repeat, the target has a child with her!"

"_Negative we see none, moving in."_ She heard the reply and was in shock; things started moving slowly as Bulma could foresee the worst. Her gut instinct kicked in and she moved in. Biscotti was being confronted, her face became contorted and a large ki energy erupted. People were thrown backwards as the alien female protested to the arrest. Her arm thrashed out and Bulma could see the spore needle coming out of her hand. This was not good this could cause a mass infection if she left it.

Bulma pulled out her gun and shot straight into Biscotti's shoulder. She heard the woman cry out, the ki dampening bullet will be making quick work of her strength.

"Biscotti! Calm down! We have the right to arrest you, nothing will happen to you or your child if you just come in quietly."

She kept running forward, the alien was looking straight at her. "YOU!" She hysterically yelled and stretched out her arm, she needed no energy to release her spore. "I should have known it was the monkey loving Bitch who was behind this all!"

"Stand down Biscotti!"

"You want to take me back to that false sanctuary! I ain't going!"

"Please, calm down Biscotti, think about your child!"

The alien wasn't responding and seemed to be focused on escaping the men surrounding her and heading to Bulma at full charge.

Bulma shot again, this time at her hand hoping to disable her use of the spore stem. There was a 'ping' and some sort of rebound had occurred.

The agent got to red alien woman and looked down, she was still alive but tears were streaming down her eyes. "MY BABY!"

As Bulma kept her gun extended she looked to behind, her bullet had ricocheted into her back. It had pierced the cocoon of the baby and the small red body had landed on the ground. There was a horrible stain of blood and fluid from the cocoon. It was also coming from the child's head as it had landed on the hard concrete street.

"AGENT!" As one of her team called out Bulma saw that Biscotti was no longer in a surrendering position and was lunging at her. Bulma turned her gun and shot again, it was a clean shot and aimed straight to the outraged woman's head. Her forehead exploded in a shower of brains and scarlet blood. Bulma knelt down to the body and made sure the hand spores were still closed. They were and Bulma calmly took out some special rubber gloves and pulled them on her twitching body.

"Agent Briefs what are you doing?" Agent Viola asked as he was carefully cradling the baby up into a blanket.

"This is just a precaution."

"My God, you're more of an Ice Queen than you let on." Agent Viola said he had tears in his eyes. "The baby's fine by the way….well it's breathing."

"My first duty should have been to talk to her." Bulma sighed. She looked down at the now still face of Biscotti. Her white hair seemed to be turning red with the blood from her wounds. Bulma checked the alien's hands; the gloves were covering her spore stems safely.

"She's a walking biohazard you know." Bulma added more to herself.

"Agent Bulma just stop." Yamcha said to her. His arm touched her shoulder and it was like cutting the string of tension that had been holding her up. Bulma's legs gave in and she leaned against the wall. She wanted to keep herself upright; Bulma didn't want to show herself becoming weak. Not with Tao being so close, she could see him on the phone in her peripheral vision. Yamcha noticed though and tried to give her a supporting hand.

"I'm going to take the infant to the paramedics…" Agent Viola said as she cuddled the small bundle. "It's got a head wound, but it's just on the surface."

"It needs its cocoon; you need to get it in some sort of protective encasing." Bulma said calmly. "The same sort of incubator for premature babies should work fine." She knew the species well, the infant was harmless and had no bio-hazardous spores. It was only very vulnerable outside the protective case, much more than a human child the same age.

"It is a girl; 'she', not 'it'." Viola replied giving Bulma another stare, the agent walked away to the incoming ambulance. Bulma welcomed her going she couldn't take another of the woman's attempts at emotional blackmailing her into feeling some guilt. She felt bad enough as it was.

"I need to return to complete the report, we're getting a car to take you away." Yamcha said. "A lot of people saw the shooting and they may be some journalists coming."

"Great my favourite." Bulma grimaced. "She was attacking me, she had her hand stem extended… that's where the deadly spores come from." She knew she had to make her story clear now. This was such a large storm that she had created. Part of her knew it wasn't her fault but she had reacted on her instinct. If only she had been able to make her point across more. If she had just managed to talk more to Biscotti; maybe if she had been there at the front line when the arrest first happened instead of charging forward like she had.

"You have to repeat what I said Agent Yamcha…" She said looking at him her face flushed. "It's important. She attacked me first! Ask them to check her hands!"

"I understand Agent Briefs, I mean Bulma." Yamcha said. "I'll tell them what you said, it should be all right." He didn't stutter for once and Bulma was glad of that. He stood by her for a moment before leaving to talk to other agents.

She dropped her head down as she felt the adrenaline slipping away from her. The world was starting to spin and she could hear people speaking to her. She managed to answer the basic questions but she knew she wasn't being that coherent. When the car arrived for her Bulma was escorted into the car.

"We'll speak to you later in the day." Agent Yamcha said but it hardly registered with Bulma she just nodded. She saw more police and ambulances arriving as she was driven away. She looked down at her feet, they were covered in blood. Her whole outfit was splattered with blood. She knew that there had been a time in her past where this would have freaked her out. Now it just reminded her of how much she'd changed. All she was really thinking about was the coming storm and the possible cleaning bill.

In the car she felt safe. Now she was away from any prying eyes she let the tears roll down her cheeks. She knew this wasn't going to be the last of her problems it would continue even further into an even bigger possible mess. Bulma could feel the edge of a deeper chasm of despair upon her. She could regret all she wanted, but it had happened. She had engaged a target when she could have waited, she could have held back. She had caused this mess and she could place blame as much as she liked she still had the main accountability for her actions. It had been an impulse, something that she instinctively felt she had to do but no-one would really understand it.

She had to try though; Bulma knew that this might affect her future career, what she didn't know was that her future was much more unbelievable than even she could understand. The events of this day would roll into a much bigger consequence than Bulma could ever imagine.

000

Far in the North of the Chaos in West City, North City was quietly enduring the winter. At the warehouse Vegeta worked at he entered quickly, he hated to be outside for too long. It wasn't the cold he hated it was more the inept cheerfulness of everyone out working in the frosty weather. He knew this dead end job paid the base but he wondered why the humans kept going on so happily. As if there was no care in the world for them, it made Vegeta doubt their sanity but he knew the reason. They were either too naïve to care or just ignoring the monotonous slog that it would become. He had to admit he had become weak recently, not with energy but with his will power. He had done more than he should have.

He looked around the foreman's office. This was his now. It had been a little passing thought that he'd had recently. He wondered if he could get it easier for himself if he became his own boss. So far it seemed to be working. Shouting orders at idiots pleased him on some level, though now his darker side was showing more. It was just he as thought, perhaps he had got sloppy. He looked at the paper that mentioned his previous foreman's body that had been found in the mountains inside a dead bear. His plan had failed and he wasn't happy about that.

He sat down in the large chair and tried to let those thoughts go. So far no-one had said it was suspicious yet he couldn't let another human die so close to him again. He was getting comfortable in this little city. It was nothing like West City which was filled with officers keeping the new immigrants in check. North City was still too cold for those refugees to come to. They needed to stay close to West City and keep their behaviour monitored. None of the new comers seemed to have any power level and as far as he could tell the Earth had been lucky.

Vegeta looked at the memo pile that had filled up during his break. The primitive Earthlings still used paper, the only computer on the lot was in Vegeta's office and the Boss's office. As far as Vegeta knew the boss had come in only a couple of times to check up on things but he left it mainly for the foreman to control the ants. That suited Vegeta just fine, it wasn't too high up to get him noticed and it was ranked high enough to set him apart from the other apes that worked here.

He stood up to look out the window. He needed to check they were actually working. Though there seemed to be something disrupting them. An unfamiliar car had pulled up. It was nowhere near the shift end so it wasn't a basic worker.

'A guest?' Vegeta mused. The car looked a little run down but well looked after. It wasn't the usual heap of junk that the workmen drove. It was also nothing like something the Boss would drive or any of his ever further higher-ups. 'Interesting.'

He watched as a bald man stepped out and pulled at his ill fitting suit. Vegeta made a good guess that he was a detective; it was long over due he guessed with all the suspicious disappearances of the staff. Vegeta knew there was no evidence that they could pin on him though they might be able to find out who he really was. His decent disguise could only keep him safe for so long, he needed to act like one of these apes. Now would be a true test of how well he had blended into this small minded society on Earth.

For Vegeta he had no idea how far this test would truly go.

000

* * *

Author's Note: Oh, poor Bulma! She's become a lot tougher than in chapter 1 and is definitely tougher than her original universe version. I've also started hinting at what will be affecting Vegeta in the next few chapters. Bulma will also have a lot more to deal with as consequences start to really escalate.

I know I'm a slow writer but I hope to get the next chapter done by this year (2013) at least! Thanks for all the reviews from people still reading and from new readers. It's great to see people are interesting in my story which I really want to be different from the usual BV, I'm not sure how the action scenes are. I always end up getting myself confused. So again, if you spot any glaring errors or plot holes please let me know, I'll be more than happy to try and fix it.


	19. The Mask of Sanity

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. I do not make money from this story.

Chapter 19

The Mask of Sanity

The North City Docking yard was busy as usual but there was someone there that didn't belong there. The man was lead into the small foreman office. Vegeta looked up as the tall man walked into his office. He was much taller than him and he could tell that he had some sort of fighting ability.

"How can I help you?" Vegeta asked. "This is a simple shipping yard, we don't usually get suits down here." Vegeta wanted to add something derogatory about his scruffy suit but he held it in.

"I'm the NC police department, Detective Tien." The Detective said. "I wanted to ask you and a few of the workmen a few questions."

"I'm Foreman Yasai Hoang." Vegeta said trying to keep his voice calm and free of any of his contempt. "I understand why you're here, but it has been a bit tense for everyone with all the disappearances I don't want the men worked up more than they already are."

"I will be discreet." Tien said. Vegeta instantly distrusted what he said. The guy stood out like a sore thumb in this place. Vegeta really didn't like his crumpled non-dry cleaned suit that maybe once had looked good. It really didn't match Vegeta's tastes that he had accumulated over the year. The Earth had so much better tailoring than that thing he was wearing. He wondered if he could rip it off along with the guy's skin. He might end up looking so much more palatable.

"So let me ask you some questions." Tien said, pulling out a notepad and totally unaware of the thoughts rushing through Vegeta's head. "Where were you on the 2nd? The night Mr Bernard Venison went missing?"

"I was hiking at the time." Vegeta answered. "I already explained this in the original report. A Mr Yama will attest to me being there at the time as I hired a shack from him in the mountains."

"You do much hiking?"

"Yeah, it beats the city." Vegeta said. "I don't know why you're asking about Bernard too."

"I thought I could tidy up any loose ends if I could find them." Tien muttered, writing down what Vegeta had told him.

"I thought old Bernie's was an accident too?" Yasai sighed. "He had a wife, though it didn't need a police investigation."

"Like the former Foreman, he met a nasty end to wild animals." Tien said. "I don't like coincidences."

"It's a peril of living in this wild land. This isn't a soft city like South City or East… there's actual work to be done here to live."

"Spent any time in those other places, I take it you're not from here."

"I travelled a lot when I was younger." Vegeta answered not sure why these questions needed asked. "I grew up in a small farm near West City."

"Your folks out there still?"

"Nope, I'm an orphan." Vegeta said but he couldn't help but ask back. "Why is my background necessary? It's all in the company files which I'm sure you have access to and if not I could let you have a copy."

"Eh, that would be great." Tien said thrown off from his questioning a little. He didn't really need to question Mr Yasai as much as this but his presence unsettled him. He felt like a wolf in a tiger's den, he was just trying to figure out what kind of man Yasai was.

"It might take a while to print out." Yasai said writing down a memo on his desk.

"You can post all the relative files to my office." Tien said though his face seemed to be mildly uncomfortable with the idea of more paperwork.

"I'll see what I can do." Yasai said. "Anything else, the men have just finished their lunch break. You have some bad timing. They might not be in the mood for talking."

"I guess you know them well."

"Last month I was with them, working on the same dull shifting of boxes."

"So you got promoted?"

Vegeta kept his face still and tried not to twitch any muscles, yes it was true he was glad of the promotion but he had to hide any clue that he was happy about it. "I still feel out of place, they needed someone with experience on the dock and they didn't want to bring in new management."

"It was by your suggestion."

"I think self-promotion is not a crime detective." Yasai said smoothly. "I believe anyone in my position that saw this tragedy as a chance said something similar."

"I understand that Mr. Hoang I just wanted to know if there was any strong motive, would you suggest to your previous foreman to go hiking or anything like that?"

"I never took him to be an outdoors man, Shanks was quite weak." Yasai said. "He never showed any interest in anything other than going to the bar for drink and women. He was an ordinary North City guy, he stayed safe and he knew the risks of the wilderness. That's why I found it so surprising that he actually went out there."

"You never took him to be the type of guy that would go out hunting or for a nature walk?"

"Can't say we shared the same interest." Yasai said. "I never could talk to him about any of my hikes, he would maybe only go out there if there was a girl involved."

"He was married."

"I don't think he was against there being any extra-marital activities with any ladies."

"You think he had affairs?"

"No proof but he always found his way to gossip about other worker's social lives with such things." Yasai grimaced as he made sure he showed his displeasure. "He would never hide his interest about such matters so I thought he was a pretty easy-going guy with the ladies."

"It could have been just bravado."

"I never got that impression; he sounded proud of other workers affairs as if they were in some sort of club." Yasai said. "I never like such gossip, but there is no way to stop it in an all men's club like this; when the men talk about their multitudes of conquests, but it doesn't interest me."

"You're a one woman guy then Mr Hoang."

"I always will be, there has only been one woman in my life and I'll keep it like that. I don't need any more trouble."

"Women are always trouble." Tien laughed there was an awkward pause until Vegeta released that the Detective had tried to make a joke and so he gave a forced snort of a laugh that seemed to unnerve Tien. He had other workers to talk to but he didn't think there would be anything more to add. He gave one last look at the blond recently hired foreman, taking his likeness into his memory. There was something about this Yasai Hoang, something that buzzed in the back of Tien's mind just out of grasp.

"Women just find a way to get into trouble." Yasai said to fill in the silence. "I only ever hear from mine when she is in trouble."

Vegeta moved his glance to a drawing he had placed in his room of a blue woman. It was quite symbolic and featureless but his imagination filled in the rest. For any other person it was just a blue blob with shining white eyes that seemed to be angry.

"So you say, my girl's not quite like that it's more the other way around." Tien said. He gave a glance at the weird artwork that seemed to be ill fitting for a foreman's office. It just added more to the mystery that was Yasai. "I take it your girl isn't in touch."

"She's not the type to keep in touch; we're a bit separated at the moment." Yasai sighed. "As I said, I'll only know when she's in trouble."

"Well sorry to bring up some old demons then." Tien said and made his way out the door. "I'll come back if there's anything else I need."

"That's no trouble." Yasai said and as the door closed the veil of Yasai Hoang slipped off and Vegeta was once again in control. He didn't like that detective, he had some small trace of power and more unfortunate, he seemed to be the questioning type. His persistent need for small talk that was really hiding his way of questioning him for information was annoying. It was testing Vegeta's patience. It was a nice set up he had in the port area he would hate to kill some dumb Detective and have to move on again. This would need to be approached carefully. He had been pushing his luck recently. He looked out the window to see Detective Tien start his enquiries.

He stepped back in case the man looked up again. He needed to be under the radar for a while and this dog detective was not going to make things easy. He went back to his painting and wondered if he should really take it home instead. Vegeta had a passing thought if he should go to West City and look up his old friend but he shook it away. He really didn't like to think about her, he only talked about her to show to the others that he had relationships. Though you could never really call what they had anything like that. For now it was all about his own survival; he needed to keep his own thoughts on himself.

000

Bulma Briefs knew this was bad she was shaking as she was driven down the road. The car was taking her home, she would feel safe there. It was out of the way from the bustle of West City and far away from the FBI office to make her feel out of the shadow of work. Though if Bulma was honest with herself she would admit that her work was all she had. Now she was not sure if she had any at all. After this her work would be over. She was going to be knocked down for this. Bulma just knew she couldn't play this game of promotions, she couldn't make herself grovel or simper to her bosses. She always spoke her mind and felt the consequences of it all through her career. Now she could strike this down as one of the worst.

It was more the waiting she knew that would be the main headache for now. The tsunami that was coming was only really the tip of what she was feeling now. It was pure anticipation of the horror that would be coming and Bulma didn't know if she had the strength to deal with it in her now cool character that she had built up for so long.

"Miss Briefs, we're here." The driver said.

Bulma shook herself awake and made her basic thanks to the man. She had been rotten at any small talk on the short journey. She could see from the kindness from the guy that he understood and she really wished she had taken a mental note of his name. Bulma had a quick urge to ask as he was driving away but she felt it was too late. It was better if she didn't know. She would probably be doing a similar job as him soon.

'Bulma Briefs, chauffeur.' She thought of the title. It just gave her a twinge of anger. She had plenty of that and she kept her temper down, not here, not on the lawn. 'I have to wait… soon.' Her house was similar to other houses in the area, each with a big enough garden for privacy but close enough to be a community. The nearby wooded park area was perfect for morning jogs and dog walking. For Bulma it was a quiet place that was her sanctity. Her only place that was safe from her constant chaos that was her job. She did admit that her neighbours were more uncomfortable with a single woman living in a family orientated area but they never really said it.

It was just indirectly hinted in their conversations about the weather or them going on school runs. It was subtle in their mind but for Bulma that had been trained to read between the lines it was obvious and slightly irritating. She never hinted at it though. She just kept her mask on and slowly lifted the veil when she stepped in her house. The neighbours were not around just now and it was just as well, she went into her house uncertain if she'd seen a curtain twitch and sure that she didn't care if there was.

As she entered she made sure to lock it behind. "I'm home." She called out into the echoing empty house.

There was no answer and Bulma didn't expect any, the only other person that had a key to her home was her cleaner and she should have finished hours ago. Bulma went into the kitchen, everything was tidied from the mess that had been her breakfast. The cleaner had been and gone, it was all clear.

Bulma opened her cupboard and took out a few mismatched cups and plates. She grabbed a giant glass vase that looked really cheap. Bulma arranged it all on her low coffee table. She snatched a cute rabbit ornament and stuck it on top of a cup. It was a weird arrangement and one that was quickly destroyed. She brought down a baseball bat into the centre and let out a scream.

"I TOLD THEM!" Tears ran down her face as she just released all her emotions on this one act of destruction.

"WHY DIDN'T THEY LISTEN?!" She side swiped the rabbit and saw it hurtle into the wall. "WHY!" The crockery was all in pieces when she was through. She panted a strange metal taste in her mouth. She had bitten her lip in her rage. She went over to the small ornament and saw that most of it was in one piece.

She stomped down on it. "IDIOT!"

Bulma let out a large sob as the anger left and there was only the regret left. She was determined not to regret her actions but she couldn't do it completely, she had messed up somewhere. She had been there at the time. She had a chance to keep things in control and she messed up. The only idiot was herself. She looked at the pitiful rabbit ornament. It was something she bought on an urge as it was similar to something her mother had. It wasn't quite the same but it was something her mother would have giggled over.

If her mother had been here she would have just laughed off the mess she made and told her to go fix something instead. Bulma didn't have that anymore, she had no mother and no urge to fix anything. She wasn't the mechanical genius she used to be. She wasn't a scientist now. She was only a warrior that couldn't follow orders, she followed her gut instinct instead.

'Just look how far this instinct got me.' Bulma wondered to herself. Sure she had caught a mass killing alien psychopath on that skill but for the three years it had not really brought her anymore luck. She needed to get her focus back. She just followed her orders till she messed them up or tried to do what she felt was right. She was the FBI Ice Queen who showed no emotion on the field and did everything her own way.

Bulma wiped her blood stained face and wondered what the rumour club would make if they saw their Ice Queen now. She was covered in cuts and blood and crying uncontrollably. She was nothing like her image she had built up. She only let it out in the quiet of the house with plates and ornaments she bought from garage sales. She doubted she could put that down as her hobby. She somehow found the strength in her legs and forced herself to go for a shower. She took her whole clothed self in and tried to wash all the alien blood off. Her jeans became too heavy and she slid them off. She got undress in the shower as she felt the hot water slowly cleansing her thoughts. The tears still ran down her face but they mixed well with the shower. It was as if she wasn't crying at all. Her dirty wet clothes were discarded in the bath tub, to be dealt with later.

She tried one last time to convince herself that she was okay but she gave up and hunkered down naked in the shower. She let the beads of water massage her aching back and she tried to clear her mind. This was only a small hurdle, she could do this. She would rise again like she always did. This didn't have to go this way. She hardened her heart again and tried to breath. The calmness that she believed was her ice entered her body and she sighed as she could feel her strength returning.

Bulma stepped out of the shower and rubbed herself down. The blood was gone though the splatters on her clothes seemed to be there forever. Bulma knew she would be having another bonfire in her backyard just to annoy her neighbours. It made her smile thinking of how they would be moaning about it in their houses just loud enough for her to hear but pretending that they were trying to be quiet.

'It'll be fine, I'll just take my grievances out of the Bakers-next-door rather than the crockery.' She smiled to herself as she thought about how much passive aggressive things she could do to annoy them.

A hot cup of tea and a quick clean up and Bulma could feel the benefits of letting out her rage. She took her time clearing up her mess. It was knick-nacks from garage sales that didn't match her style. They had only been bought with the intention of to be broken in her rage. She still had it just under control but there were times when her spoilt self wanted to have her way. It was a bad habit she'd taken up but it was keeping her away from the cigarettes and that was what really counted to her. When the stress gets too much for her it was her only release. She knew she needed to find a new hobby but it was a satisfaction that was hard to imitate. She made a move to switch on the TV but stopped herself, she didn't want to know just now.

She moved instead to her CD collection and selected something more soothing and lay down on the couch. Tomorrow would bring all the mess that she had made, for today she would just try to cool her head and not think about it. The storm was coming and she would stand her ground and face it.

"Maybe they'll listen this time." Bulma hummed to herself along with the music.

000

* * *

Author's Notes: Long time no see Vegeta! I hope no one's too confused by my calling Vegeta Yasai during his interview with Tien. I wanted to show that he was acting in character. Bulma too is keeping herself a façade that she's built up. This Ice Queen act of hers is hiding her real short temper that I made her show that she's still not got some control of. I hope to explore that inner friction in later chapters and I hope I can do what I envision some justice.

Next chapter the storm breaks and we'll see more of Detective Tien. He's got a back story that needs fleshed out and Bulma will have her consequences to face.

Thanks to everyone that continue to read this and leave your comments. If you spot any errors let me know as I write this without a Beta.


	20. Guillotine

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. I do not make money from this story.

Chapter 20

Guillotine

* * *

Another day drew to a close in North city; the heavy snow storm was just starting and was probably going to be continuing all night. A scruffy man got out of his car, pulled a woollen hat on his bald head and ran to his house. Detective Tien had returned home from his day of interviews at the docks. It hadn't really thrown out any leads but there was something about the new foreman that was giving him a strange feeling. This was what the Police always called their gut instinct. He sighed as he saw a note from his fiancée stuck on the fridge door. He guessed she'd be down at the bar as usual. His lack of any funds to get them out of this hell hole of a town was starting to drive them apart.

He needed a break and to get his transfer confirmed somewhere sunny like the South islands or even a dead end village down south. Anywhere south would do him fine. He adjusted his hat, the heating had been switched off and it would take a while to heat up. He walked through to his study and switched on the PC. There were some small reports he could get done in the morning but he had to check something. Tien prepared his coffee and settled down in his comfy computer chair, wrapping himself up with a blanket.

The police intranet was easily accessed from his PC making some of his paperwork less of a hassle. He didn't need to do those interview reports today but he could just start writing it up. The coincidence of two men working for the same company and being found dead in the wilderness was too much for him. There had to be something going on even if it was some stupid dare that went wrong. He spent a while looking at the files of the men that had died. There was nothing outstanding about their deaths really but the amount of missing dead people had been too high recently. The amount of missing reports had increased and it was always with no real trend, all genres and creed of people were missing. The dock workers were his current only link that seemed to connect to something. He just didn't know what. His attention needed to be elsewhere and he decided to send a message to his girl. 'At home, when u coming home?'

There was a pause as he waited for the return and after a minute he gave up. She was obviously ignoring him; he clicked back onto the internet and kept looking over the same files. He went to the FBI site, he needed to drag himself into his work to forget. They had updated their site with a list of most wanted refugees. It was strange how the number one was that damn alien psycho. That killer was responsible for the changing world he now lived in. The main public knew little about where these refugees came from but Tien knew thanks to some links he had to the FBI. He knew that for some reason Vegeta was unable to go on his killing spree again and so had gone into hiding. He had not escaped the planet, there was no way he could get past the current shield that surrounded Earth. It was what was keeping the current immigrants in check but it also kept those going out in complete control too. There was no leaving or entering unless the FBI deemed it suitable. They were the ones really controlling everything and Tien hated them for it. It didn't help that he had been rejected from the FBI selection process 8 years ago when it started and had been forced into law enforcement instead.

He looked across to his photo by his computer. It was a picture of his younger days when he had been training under his master and where he had met his best friend. Those days were past now, Chao Tzu was dead and gone thanks to Vegeta and his small but devastating invasion. He needed to honour his friend's death and continue with his fight against these invaders. He had given up on getting into the FBI their methods and psychological evaluations always let him down.

He stared at the picture of Vegeta, he knew those cold black eyes well. The picture of his smirk just for the camera, as if to say he knew he would be able to escape and kill them all. He shut down the browser in annoyance and rubbed his temples. His head was throbbing and he could feel another killer migraine coming on. There was something in the back of his mind clicking the pieces together but they just hadn't linked yet. Tien had no idea how close he was to figuring it all out but he wasn't quite there yet. He was thinking too much about other people's interviews and his partner worries.

He called it a night on his work and went to get his dinner that was sitting cold in his fridge. All he needed now was to get that break and show his girl that they could finally move out and get married. Then he could get all the things he wanted to buy for her. He could buy back her love, there was nothing Tien would do now to keep his only companion with him now. He just knew these missing people cases were just the ticket he needed.

000

The next day in West City, Bulma Briefs drove up to her Head Quarters and wondered why there was such a crowd outside. She felt her stomach tense as unease crept over her. This was not a usual press day, this was because of that incident. She tried to drive past to get to the parking lot but a sharp eyed reporter spotted her and tapped on the glass as she slowly made her way past. Bulma didn't wind down the window she let the reporter shout through the glass.

"Agent Briefs! Any comment about the death of an innocent mother and child?" The woman yelled at her. "Why are you still working here?"

Bulma drove on. 'Innocent mother?' She was fuming, her temper was about to explode again. She needed to get past them and into her work, just what was going on? She pushed her car through as slowly as she could but the crowd had now realised it was her and started to pin her in. She knew it was too late to try to escape to the back entrance. She stepped out of the car, awkwardly parking it in a bad place. She pushed through as the cameras flashed and the endless chattering echoed around her.

"Tell us why you did it!"

"We need to know!"

"Daily Jupiter needs a scoop, please let us have an interview!"

She ignored them all as it seemed to merge into one large noise. The guards came forward and tried to shield her as she kept muttering "No comment." The only thing that can be said at times like this. She wondered how this had been leaked in such a short time but then she had ignored the news all of last night and had a stayed in her room listening to music. As she reached the safety of the Reception Hall she stood panting to recover for a few minutes. She could feel the glare of everyone around her and looked up quite shy.

"Sorry, seems I cause another ruckus." She said embarrassed and inwardly angry that she had to apologise. She tried to keep her head up and walked on to her meeting. She had to remain as the Ice Queen it was not just a mask anymore it was her armour. The inside of her was a swirling mess as the sense of dread became more intense. There was no way an undercover mission should have been exposed as soon as this. She wished she knew were Director Piccolo was but his phone had been on answer machine all of yesterday.

The long journey to the top floor of the FBI building was quick as things started to swim around her. The whispers of gossip were starting to get to her and the dread became stronger. She had been in this situation before when Vegeta had escaped. Though then she had the support of her friend Lunch. She silently wondered if it was time to go take a trip away and pay her a visit.

"Agent Bulma Briefs, I have an appointment with the Chief Director." She said to the Guard at the elevator.

The Guard nodded and let her enter. Chief Director Kami's office was on the top floor and was only accessible by one guarded elevator. She had only been up there once a few years ago. She never forgot how long the elevator took. It always took so long to get there. She silently wished it was just Piccolo's office instead. With Kami she always had the feeling he wouldn't tell her the hard facts. He seemed kind but cold at the same time. At least with Piccolo, no matter how scary and serious his face got he always told her the full truth.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened to reveal the white office. It felt much cleaner and more sterile than the rest of the building. It didn't seem as if many people came here. The woman at the desk who seemed to be the secretary motioned for her to sit down. She didn't even need to say anything. The cameras surrounded this place and Bulma only found a place to sit down in the waiting area.

She tried to calm herself and bring back the cool façade she needed. Bulma knew that the reporters should not have known about this incident already unless there had been a leak. This could be the end for her. She looked down at her phone and saw all the missed calls, all from numbers unknown. She switched off the phone. It looked like she'd need to find a new phone as well.

"Agent Briefs?" The secretary said. "You may enter now, the meeting is being called."

Bulma murmured her thanks and walked in. She'd taken down multiple dangerous aliens before but now it seemed that she was facing her biggest challenge. She mused that she would even prefer if it was Prince Vegeta waiting for her than what was in there. Inside Chief Director Kami sat at the centre with Special Agent Tao to one side and an unfamiliar female agent with sharp eyes and short purple hair.

"Take a seat." The woman said. "We haven't met before, I'm Special Agent Violet."

Bulma nodded, she didn't feel the need for pleasantries. The woman wasn't even holding out her hand for a shake.

"We'll get down to the main issue here, which you must be aware of." Tao said.

Kami had not yet spoken or even opened his eyes to look at her.

"I have an idea, but…" Bulma tried to find the words, her mouth was so dry. "I-I haven't watched the news or returned any calls since yesterday. I was too much in shock."

"You shot an infant Agent Briefs." Kami said in a deep and disappointed tone.

"It was in a cocoon, I was more concerned about Biscotti's spores."

"Her spores were not really a problem at all." Tao said. "She has had the spore sacs removed. She only had the hand needles as a form of self-defence."

Bulma looked at Tao, he had a slight smirk on his face. It clicked into place for Bulma; he knew Biscotti's updated information all along! 'That asshole!" She inwardly cursed.

"Agent Briefs, you failed at your task of being an advisor for the undercover operation." Violet said to her. "You were not ordered to make any move forward as Biscotti knew you. You were a risk to the operation and needed only to give your opinion on the suspect. As it turns out your advice was certainly out-dated."

"When did she have the spore sacs removed?" Bulma asked trying to keep her voice calm. She could hear sharpening blades as she felt herself getting closer to the chopping block.

"She needed the spores removed to stay in the civilian area." Violet explained. "Otherwise she would have been only a resident of the Sanctuary. It was done 3 months ago."

Bulma nodded, she thought that Biscotti had escaped the Alien Containment Village, nicknamed the Sanctuary. It was well known to her that Biscotti hated that place. The alien female had been screaming at her before she died how she wouldn't go back there. The Aliens though called it the "False Sanctuary" which was in a way true, it was just a prison disguised as a village.

"We know you acted in the best wishes of the civilians." Kami said. "Though there were innocent casualties. The infant's shooting was seen by some people on the street. They managed to film it with a shaky camera. It has spread like wild fire across the media."

Bulma nodded, she was starting to understand the fury of the reporters at the front of the building now.

"You have left us no choice Agent Briefs, you are officially suspended from duty starting from now. Please relieve your gun and badge now."

"What?" Bulma asked. "No, trial?"

"There shall be a trial at a later date." Kami said. "This is just a formal meeting to set things in motion. I would ask of you to attend the press conference and make an official apology to the family of Biscotti."

"Sir." Bulma acknowledged and took out her badge and gun. She wanted to protest, that Biscotti had no family but she felt she had no right to say that. She had killed the only other family the alien woman had. She placed the gun down along with her badge and kept her head down looking at the desk where they lay. The first blow to her career had been done, she was finished. Her short 3 year career was never going to recover from this. All she could hope for now was some office work in some back room somewhere. She could feel the tears forming and bit her tongue to try and stop it. There was no use having a cry in front of these people.

"If only Piccolo were here now." Tao sighed. "You were his prodigy, I'm grateful he's away in the space station just now. He'll be unable to see the state that you've become."

'Oh, gloat you ass, go ahead.' Bulma hissed inside, whatever tears she feared would fall stopped as her anger rose. 'No wonder Director Piccolo wouldn't answer his phone, this is too good a timing to be real.' Piccolo had always been the one that would back her up when she'd come across the bureaucratic barriers that people seemed to throw in her way. She never seemed to be good enough. There were just so many things that were too good a coincidence.

"We have written a speech that you are to read." Agent Violet said. She pushed forward the paper.

"What if I don't read it exactly?" Bulma looked down at the simple piece of paper with suspicion.

"We want you to read it first and change anything by my authority only." Violet said. "I do warn you that this will be taken as evidence in your trial, so read it through carefully and sign at the bottom."

Bulma's stomach clenched in anger and stress as she reached for the paper and read it. The apology was vague enough but she scribbled a few words out that made it seem like it wasn't an accident. She sat quietly checking it over and over till she finally decided and handed it back signed. It wasn't like she had much of a choice.

"Thank you for your co-operation _Miss_ Briefs." Violet said making a hinted stress at the now ex-agent. She was no longer 'Agent Briefs'.

000

* * *

The News Conference was called and a world wide televised news broadcast was made. For some people up in the cold North City this was a nice break for the normal slog of the day. Just to see what those crazies down South were up to. For the Foreman of the Docking Yard he joined his men around the small TV in the break room. Vegeta sipped on his coffee as they made the announcement. He paused in his drinking as a familiar name.

"_We're joined here live to hear a public apology from the now suspended Bulma Briefs. The once heiress of the Capsule Corporation has once again found herself in the frontline of a scandal. Only three years ago she was suspected of having an affair with the World's most dangerous criminal Prince Vegeta. She was cleared of all charges of aiding the criminal's escape but she still is subject to many conspiracy theories around his notorious escape."_

Vegeta took a seat and put down his coffee.

"That's the bitch that was with that damn killer!" One man snapped. "Makes me sick thinking of how she got away with it for years."

"Quiet Joe." Vegeta hissed. He really didn't want to have to kill another co-worker.

"Agent Briefs was seen yesterday morning in an FBI shoot-out that went horribly wrong. An innocent woman and child were killed in the drug raid and Agent Briefs was filmed as the main aggressor in the attack."

A wobbly and out of focus video was shown with a giant mosaic hiding the victim. Bulma's face was zoomed in on and frozen as she fired her gun. Vegeta seemed to notice how her hair had grown longer and was able to go into a ponytail. From the wobbly film he could see how she had become a competent fighter now, if not unbearably weak still and needing hand weapons to fight.

"_We're joined live as she makes her announcement…."_

The scene changed from the still frame to a conference hall and on stage was a panel, the blue colour drew Vegeta's eye and the camera too focused on her someone off camera talked about the tragedy. The camera went to that person who seemed very old.

"_We at the FBI are aware of the public safety at all time and we were doing everything in our power to protect and serve."_

Vegeta zoned out from the vacant speech and looked across the room, some men had gone back to work, loosing interest while others stayed. Vegeta thought about the red mosaic he had seen on the footage. It had obviously been a very dangerous type of alien she had been fighting. As usual the reports failed to mention the race but Vegeta could make a guess.

"_I am aware of my actions and I apologize to the family of Sable Biscotti, she was not an innocent but she was under surveillance for drug trafficking. She was only to be brought in for questioning about her current activities and no firearms were meant to be used. I acted on my own indicative to take on Miss Biscotti as I believed she was armed and dangerous. I was wrong in that assumption and I accept my punishment of suspension for my shooting of Biscotti. The infant involved was hit by a rebound shot and was alive at the time of the shooting. We did everything we could to try to save her life. It was unfortunately not enough and she died later in hospital. I will be accountable for her death as well and I will have a full hearing in the FBI court."_

"I guarantee that will be rigged too." Joe huffed. "She's going to get off Scott free again."

Vegeta gave the man a glare, "Break finished 5 minutes ago…"

"A'right" Joe and the rest of the men made their escape. They preferred to stay on their new foreman's good side.

Vegeta took one last look at Bulma; he lightly touched the screen as he saw her desperate face reading off the card. Those weren't her own words, the script was too obvious. She had been thrown to the wolves of the reporters to save the image of the FBI. This was a typical gesture in any civilization and she was just blindly following orders again. They needed a scapegoat and Bulma was a perfect match. He switched off the television and made an inward decision. It was time to make contact to his little lost princess, whether he saved her or damned her, he was still to decide.

000

* * *

Author Notes: If anyone has read Hannibal or seen the movie you'll know this isn't the end for Bulma and her career. I still need to decide if I'm going the way of the movie, book or some weird twist of my own. I never planned on having Vegeta in this chapter but I thought it fitted well enough though it made this chapter longer than I planned. The next part we'll get further into Dr Gero's plans as I have not forgotten about him. There's also the new menace of Tien for Vegeta to deal with.

This universe I've created for this Silence of Lambs/Dragonball cross is much more centered in a weird version of the Dragonball Universe rather than the more reality version of Earth. So that's why there are giant bears, and the strange city names.

Final note, I would also say that I have been watching the new Hannibal series and I liked it but I felt there were a lot of misused Red Dragon quotes in the wrong places. I don't know why that particularly bugged me, but I liked it overall. I doubt I'll add any of what I watched into my story as it's all stuff to do with the guy before Clarice, no spoilers as it has some nice twists that change the way the book went. It's worth a watch; just beware people that read the book. I made a fuss every time I noticed something taken from Red Dragon in the wrong place; I should have watched it without worrying about that. (Well, I am a fangirl.)

As always, thanks for everyone's kind reviews and if you spot any mistakes let me know and I shall try to correct them. We're still a long way from Bulma and Vegeta meeting again but you know it's going to happen. Let's enjoy the twisted journey getting there!


End file.
